30  JL 


IC-NRLF 


o 
r\j 
r- 
o 


LIFE 


OF 


COLONEL  AARON  BURR, 


VICE-PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ALSO 


SKETCHES  OF  REV.  AARON  BUKR,  D.D.,  PRESIDENT  OP  PRINCETON  COLLEGE, 

AND  OF  THEODOSIA,  DAUGHTER  OF  COLONEL  BURR  AND  WIFE 

OF.  GOVERNOR  ALSTON,  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


BY 

OHAELES    BUBE    TODD. 


REPRINTED  PROM  THE  AUTHOR'S  "HISTORY  OP  THE  BURR  FAMILY.' 


xx 

f  Of  THE 

I  UNIVERSITY   } 
J 

RW^^ 

YORK  : 

S.  W.    GREEN,  PRINTER,   16  AND  18  JACOB   STREET. 

1879. 


AARON  BURR,  D.  D.  [46] 

ON  the  4th  of  January,  1716,  there  was  born  to  Daniel  Burr 
Esq.,  of  Upper  Meadow,  a  district  in  the  northern  limits  of  the 
present  town  of  Fairfield,  Ct.  a  son,  on  whom  the  graces  that  preside 
at  birth,  seem  to  have  lavished  all  those  gifts  which  they  so  charily 
bestow  on  the  majority  of  mankind. 

He  had  a  lively,  intelligent,  profound  intellect,  a  handsome 
person,  equable  temper,  sufficient  wealth,  and  all  the  advantages 
of  birth,  breeding,  and  education,  and  still  further  to  insure  his 
successful  rearing,  five  hearty,  healthy  boys,  and  three  merry  girls 
shared  with  him  in  the  care  and  solicitude  of  his  parents. 

"  From  childhood,"  says  his  biographer,*  "he  had  a  strong  in 
clination  for  learning,  and  early  discovered  tokens  of  that  extraor 
dinary  quickness  of  intellect  which  afterward  distinguished  him." 
Fortunately  his  friends  had  the  discernment  to  perceive  this,  and 
early  determined  to  give  him  a  liberal  education,  with  a  view  to 
entering  him  later  in  some  one  of  the  learned  professions. 

Accordingly,  in  his  eighteenth  year,  he  entered  Yale  College, 
then  beginning  to  acquire  that  prestige  as  an  educator  of  youth, 
which  had  before  belonged  exclusively  to  Harvard,  and  after  the 
usual  term  of  four  years  graduated  with  the  highest  honors  of  the 
class.  This  occurred  in  1738.  He  was  particularly  proficient  in 
Greek  and  Latin,  and  on  receiving  his  first  degree,  was  a  candidate 
for,  and  received  the  privileges  of  a  resident  graduate  on  the  Berke 
ley  foundation,  which  were  only  granted  after  competition,  to  the 
three  best  scholars  in  Greek  and  Latin  of  the  class. 

The  year  after  and  while  pursuing  his  post-graduate  studies, 
an  event  occurred  which  exerted  a  controlling  influence  on  his 
subsequent  career.  In  this  year  he  experienced  that  mys 
terious  change  which  we  call  conversion,  and  which  has  changed 
the  life  current  of  so  many  men.  A  very  interesting  account 
of  this  event  is  given,  in  the  following  extract  from  his  private 
papers  : 

"This  year  God  saw  fit  to  open  my  eyes,  and  show  me  what  a 
miserable  creature  I  was.  Until  then  I  had  spent  my  life  in  a 

*  Stearns'  Hist,  of  First  Church,  Newark. 


•HE 

. 
OF 

&1UFQRN 


KEY.  AARON  BURR,  D.  D.  67 

dream,  and  as  to  the  greatdesign  of  my  life  had  lived  in  vain. 
Though  before  I  had  been  under  frequent  conviction,  and  was 
driven  to  a  form  of  religion,  yet  I  knew  nothing  as  I  ought  to 
know.  But  then  I  was  brought  to  the  footstool  of  sovereign  grace, 
saw  myself  polluted  by  nature  and'  practice,  had  affecting  views 
of  the  Divine  wrath  I  deserved,  was  made  to  despair  of  help  in  my 
self,  and  almost  concluded  that  my  day  of  grace  was  passed.  It 
pleased  God  at  length  to  reveal  his  Son  to  me  as  an  all  sufficient 
Savior,  and  I  hope,  inclined  me  to  receive  him  on  the  terms  of  the 
Gospel." 

His  thoughts  were  now  turned  towards  the  Christian  ministry, 
as  the  worthiest,  most  sacred  and  most  responsible  pursuit  of  man, 
and  in  September,  1736,  he  was  licensed  as  a  candidate  for  sacred 
orders.  His  first  parish  was  Greenfield,  Massachusetts,  a  pretty 
village  in  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  a  few  miles  above  Spring 
field. 

He  remained  there  but  a  short  time,  and  then  removed  to  New 
Jersey,  and  preached,  as  the  old  chronicles  inform  us,  at  a  place 
called  Hanover  ;  while  here,  a  wider  sphere  of  action  was  opened 
before  him. 

In  1677,  a  colony  of  Connecticut  people,  principally  from  New 
Haven,  had  settled  on  the  fertile  banks  of  the  Passaic,  in  New 
Jersey.  The  church  which  they  then  founded  had  grown  with 
the  years,  until  it  had  now  become  a  numerous  and  wealthy  so 
ciety,  known  as  the  First  Church  of  Newark  ;  it  was  now  without 
a  pastor,  and  having  heard  of  the  piety  and  eloquence  of  the 
young  preacher  from  Connecticut,  they  appointed  a  committee,  in 
Nov.,  1736,  to  go  down  to  Hanover  and  treat  with  him,  "on  the 
subject  of  his  becoming  a  candidate."  Next  month,  Dec.  21st,  it 
was  put  to  vote  "whether  the  town  desire  Mr.  Aaron  Burr  should 
have  a  call  for  further  improvement  in  the  work  of  the  ministry 
among  us,  as  a  candidate  for  further  trial,  which  was  carried  in 
the  affirmative,  nemine  contradicente."  They  were  cautious  folk, 
however,  and  engaged  him  at  first,  for  but  one  year,  commencing 
Jan.  10,  1737.  The  connection  proved  mutually  satisfactory,  and 
at  the  expiration  of  the  year  he  was  ordained  as  their  pastor,  by 
the  Presbytery  of  East  Jersey,  with  which  the  church  was  then 
connected.  His  emotions,  on  being  inducted  into  this  responsible 
office,  are  thus  referred  to  in  his  journal  :  "Jan.  the  25th,  I  was 
set  apart  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  by  fasting,  prayer,  and  im 
position  of  hands.  God  grant  that  I  may  ever  keep  fresh  in  my 


210342 


68  FAIRF1ELD  BRANCH. 

mind  the  solemn  charge  that  was  then  given,  and  never  indulge 
trifling  thoughts  of  what  then  appeared  to  me  to  be  of  such 
awful  importance." 

The  early  part  of  his  ministry  was  remarkable  for  that  wonder 
ful  religious  movement,  which,  commencing  at  Northampton  and 
other  towns  in  the  Connecticut  Valley,  spread  from  town  to  town 
and  from  point  to  point,  until  nearly  the  whole  country  was  em 
braced  in  its  ever  increasing  circles. 

Great  Britain  also  presented,  at  the  same  time,  a  similar  phe 
nomenon.  This  movement  is  known  in  religious  annals  as  the 
"  Great  Awakening."  Whitefield  and  the  Wesleys  were  its  leaders 
in  England,  and  Whitefield,  Edwards  and  Burr  among  its  chief 
promoters  in  America.* 

The  personal  friendship  and  connection  with  Whitefield,  begun 
at  this  time,  forms  one  of  the  most  charming  passages  in  the  life 
of  this  good  man.  The  vessel  in  which  the  former  took  passage 
for  this  country  was  bound  to  Newport,  R.  I.,  and  as  it  happened 
Mr.  Burr  was  in  that  city  when  the  vessel  with  its  distinguished 
passenger  arrived.  It  is  probable  that  he  accompanied  Whitefield 
on  his  journey  to  Boston  soon  after ;  at  least  he  was  in  that  city 
while  the  latter  was  preaching  there,  and  his  letters  of  this  date 
contain  many  pleasant  little  scraps  of  information  concerning  the 
great  preacher  and  his  sermons. 

For  instance,  in  one,  the  first  of  the  series,  he  remarks,  "  To 
day  I  heard  Mr.  Whitefield  preach  in  Dr.  Coleman's  church.  I 
am  more  and  more  pleased  with  the  man."  Again,  "on  the  21st 
I  heard  him  preach  on  the  Common  to  about  10,000  people.  On 
Monday  visited  him  and  had  some  conversation,  to  my  satisfaction." 
"On  the  23d  went  to  hear  him  preach  in  Mr.  Webb's  church,  but 
the  house  was  crowded  before  he  came.  Same  day  Mr.  Whitefield 
preached  at  Mr.  Gee's  church,  and  in  the  evening  at  Dr.  Sewall's. 
On  Saturday  I  went  to  hear  him  preach  again,  on  the  Common ; 
there  were  about  8,000  there. 

It  was  during  Mr.  Burr's  stay  in  Boston  at  this  time  that  an  in 
cident  occurred,  which  is  related  as  showing  his  remarkable  power 
as  a  preacher. 

One  evening  a  young  lady  very  wealthy  and  accomplished,  but 
a  sceptic  in  religion,  was  passing  by  the  church  in  which  he  was 

*  A  letter  from  Newark  at  this  period  mentions  Mr.  Burr  as  one  of  the  ministers  whom 
the  good  Lord  had  stirred  up  and  inspired  to  water  the  seed  sown  by  Mr.  Whitefield  in  that 
region. 


REV.  AARON  BURR.  D.  D.  69 

to  preach,  and  attracted  by  the  crowd  that  was  pouring  in,  entered. 
By  and  by  Mr.  Burr  entered  the  desk.  There  being  nothing 
remarkable  in  his  appearance,  she  regarded  him  with  contempt, 
and  would  have  left  the  church  had  not  a  regard  for  appearances 
restrained  her.  But  with  the  first  deep,  melodious  tones  of  the 
preacher  her  interest  was  awakened;  she  listened  with  the  most 
breathless  attention  to  the  sermon  which  followed,  and  at  its  close 
went  out  weeping  and  convinced.  That  evening  dated  a  most 
decided  change  in  her  character  and  life;  she  became  a  humble, 
earnest  Christian,  and  some  years  after  died,  in  the  triumphs  of 
faith. 

After  some  weeks  spent  in  Boston,  Mr.  Burr  returned  to  his 
parochial  duties  in  Newark. 

Some  time  after,  in  November,  1740,  he  was  visited  by  Mr. 
Whitefield,  who  preached  in  his  church  with  the  most  gratifying 
results.  A  correspondence  was  kept  up,  it  is  said,  between  the  two 
until  Mr.  Burr's  death. 

Two  years  after  this  visit,  in  June,  1742,  the  First  Church  of 
New  Haven  honored  Mr.  Burr  with  an  invitation  to  become  their 
assistant  pastor  with  Mr.  Noyes,  and  appointed  a  committee  with 
President  Clapp  at  their  head,  "to  go  down  to  Newark  and  lay 
the  call  before  Mr.  Burr,  and  at  the  same  time  to  treat  with  the 
good  people  of  Newark  and  gain  their  consent  to  Mr.  Burr's  re 
moval."  But  both  Mr.  Burr  and  "the  good  people  of  Newark" 
seem  to  have  been  perfectly  satisfied  with  their  mutual  relations, 
and  the  delegation  was  obliged  to  return  home  unsuccessful.  Soon 
after  we  may  suppose  that  Mr.  Burr  returned  their  visit,  as  he 
was  chiefly  occupied  during  this  summer  with  sending  the  devoted 
Bramerd  on  his  long  cherished  mission  to  the  Indian  tribes  of  the 
continent,  and  in  the  course  of  the  summer  made  a  long  journey 
into  New  England  and  urged  upon  its  people  the  duty  and  neces 
sity  of  christianizing  the  Indians  about  them,  and  also  recom 
mended  Mr.  Brainerd  as  well  fitted,  both  by  nature  and  grace,  for 
the  work.  Other  ministers  seconded  these  efforts  and  the  result 
was  that,  in  1744,  Brainerd  was  ordained  and  sent  on  a  mission  to 
the  Indians  at  the  Forks  of  the  Delaware. 

A  marked  peculiarity  of  President  Burr's  character  was  the 
large  development  in  him  of  the  paternal  instinct, — a  trait  also 
shared  by  his  famous  son. 

He  loved  children,  and  had  an  instinctive  desire  to  take  every 
bright  active  boy  he  saw,  and  "  make  a  man  of  him."  As  an  edu- 


70  FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

cator  of  youth,  he  was  justly  celebrated.  Very  early  in  his  pastorate 
at  Newark  he  gathered  a  class  of  boys,  eight  or  ten  about  him, 
and  instructed  them  in  the  principles  of  the  English  and  classical 
languages.  This  was  but  the  beginning. 

On  the  23d  Oct.,  1746,  Jonathan  Dickinson,  John  Pierson, 
Ebenezer  Pemberton,  and  Aaron  Burr,  with  an  equal  number  of 
lay  associates,  received  a  charter  for  a  new  college  of  New  Jersey, 
and  which  was  organized  the  first  week  in  May,  1747,  at  Elizabeth- 
town.  Of  this  institution  Jonathan  Dickinson  was  the  first  Presi 
dent. 

In  August,  1747,  Mr.  Dickinson  died,  and  the  students,  eight  in 
number,  were  removed  to  Newark,  and  placed  under  the  care  of 
Mr.  Burr.  The  following  September,  Grov.  Belcher  granted  a  new 
charter,  under  which  the  college  is  at  present  conducted,  and  on 
the  9th  of  November,  1748,  Mr.  Aaron  Burr  was  unanimously 
chosen  the  first  President  of  the  new  college,  "an  office,"  says  the 
College  Eecord,  "  which  he  was  pleased  modestly  to  accept,  and 
took  the  oath  of  office  required  by  the  charter."  His  devotion  to 
the  interests  of  his  new  charge  knew  no  bounds  ;  indeed,  he  is  to 
be  regarded  not  only  as  the  first  President  and  true  founder  of 
this  sturdy  giant  of  our  day,  but  as  its  fostering  parent  as  well. 

"The  college,"  says  Dr.  Stearns,  "  was  at  the  time  in  a  feeble 
condition,  and  he  not  only  contributed  freely  of  his  own  means, 
but  by  the  weight  of  his  own  influence  and  personal  efforts,  he 
was  able  to  accomplish  much  in  securing  for  it  the  patronage  of 
the  liberal,  here  and  in  other  parts  of  the  world." 

For  the  first  three  years  of  its  existence,  he  received  no  salary 
whatever  as  President,  and  his  intense  interest  in  its  welfare  is 
shown  in  a  letter  of  the  period,  which,  after  remarking  that  the 
college  had  lately  drawn  £200  in  a  lottery,  adds,  "It  hath  given 
the  President  such  pleasure,  that  his  spirits  are  greatly  refreshed 
which  were  before  very  low."*  Mr.  Burr  remained  President  of 
the  college  actively  laboring  in  its  behalf  until  his  death  in  1757. 
Indeed,  it  is  highly  probable  that  his  unparalleled  labors  in  its  be 
half  were  the  main  cause  of  his  untimely  decease. 

In  the  midst  of  this  life  of  activity,  occurred  his  marriage  with 
Miss  Esther  Edwards,  daughter  of  the  Eev.  Jonathan  Edwards  of 

*  The  autograph  which  accompanies  this  sketch,  is  from  a  paper  in  the  Connecticut  State 
Archives,  praying  the  General  Assembly  for  authority  to  hold  a  lottery  in  that  State  for  the 
benefit  of  the  college,  which  power  was  denied  them  by  the  law  of  New  Jersey.  The  paper 
is  signed  by  Aaron  Burr,  Pres.  of  the  college,  as  acting  for  the  trustees. 


REV.  AARON  BURR,  D.  D.  71 

Stockbridge,  Mass.  This  event,  and  the  manner  of  its  accomplish 
ment,  created  no  small  amount  of  gossip  in  the  social  circles  of  the 
day.  Mr.  Burr  was  then  thirty-seven,  the  young  lady  twenty-one. 
His  courtship,  judging  from  the  letters  of  a  young  gentleman  then 
a  student  in  Princeton  College,  to  his  friends  describing  the  affair, 
was  quite  patriarchal. 

The  young  letter- writer  thus  describes  it :  "In  the  latter  end 
of  May,  the  president  took  a  journey  into  New  England,  and  dur 
ing  his  absence  he  made  a  visit  of  but  three  days,  to  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Edwards'  daughter  at  Stockbridge ;  in  which  short  time,  though 
he  had  no  acquaintance,  nor  had  ever  seen  the  lady  these  six  years, 
I  suppose  he  accomplished  his  whole  design,  for  it  was  not  above  a 
fortnight  after  his  return  here,  before  he  sent  a  young  fellow 
(who  came  out  of  college  last  fall)  into  New  England  to  conduct 
her  and  her  mother  down  here. 

"  They  came  to  town  Saturday  evening  the  27th  ult.,  and  on 
Monday  evening  following,  the  nuptial  ceremonies  were  celebrated 
between  Mr.  Burr  and  the  young  lady.  As  I  have  yet  no  manner 
of  acquaintance  with  her,  I  cannot  describe  to  you  her  qualifica 
tions  and  properties.  However,  they  say  she  is  a  very  valuable 
lady.  I  think  her  a  person  of  great  beauty,  though  I  must  say  I 
think  her  rather  too  young  (being  twenty-one  years  of  age)  for  the 
President." 

A  few  weeks  later,  on  becoming  acquainted,  he  wrote  again, 
giving  his  impressions  of  the  lady: 

"  I  can't  omit  acquainting  you  that  our  president  enjoys  all  the 
happiness  that  the  married  state  can  afford.  I  am  sure,  when  he 
was  in  the  condition  of  celibacy,  the  pleasure  of  his  life  bore  no 
comparison  to  that  he  now  possesses. 

"  From  the  little  acquaintance  I  have  with  his  lady,  I  think  her 
a  woman  of  very  good  sense,  of  a  genteel  and  virtuous  education, 
amiable  in  her  person,  of  great  affability  and  agreeableness  in  con 
versation,  and  a  very  excellent  economist." 

The  marriage  was  solemnized,  June  29,  1752.  Two  years  later, 
May  3,  1754,  the  old  parsonage  in  Newark  was  enlivened  by  the 
birth  of  a  daughter,  Sarah,  and  again,  Feb.  6,  1756,  by  the  ad 
vent  of  a  son,  Aaron.  They  were  the  only  children  of  President 
and  Esther  Burr. 

In  the  autumn  of  1756,  the  college  buildings  at  Princeton 
were  completed,  and  the  president  removed  thither,  severing  his 
connection  with  the  church  which  he  had  served  to  the  great  sat- 


72  FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

isf action  of  all  parties,  for  twenty  years.  But  the  career  of  this 
busy  and  pious  man  was  near  its  close. 

In  August,  1757,  he  made  one  of  his  swift  journeys  into  New 
England,  penetrating  as  far  as  Stockbridge,  the  residence  of  his 
father-in-law.  He  returned  home  much  exhausted,  but  was 
obliged  to  set  off  at  once  to  Elizabethtown,  to  meet  Governor 
Belcher,  on  pressing  business  connected  with  the  college. 

At  Elizabethtown  he  learned  that  the  wife  of  the  Eev.  Caleb 
Smith  was  dead,  and  hastened  to  condole  with  his  bereaved 
friend,  and  on  his  arrival  was  prevailed  on  to  preach  the  funeral 
sermon  of  the  deceased  lady. 

On  his  return  to  Princeton,  he  suffered  from  attacks  of  inter 
mittent  fever,  but  disregarding  it,  made  a  forced  journey  to  Phila 
delphia,  still  on  college  business. 

From  this  journey  he  returned  utterly  exhausted,  only  to  meet 
fresh  demands  upon  his  energies,  for  Governor  Belcher,  his  old 
friend  and  ally,  the  firm  friend  and  patron  of  the  college,  had  died 
suddenly,  and  who  but  President  Burr  could  fitly  pronounce  his 
funeral  eulogium.  He  spent  nearly  the  whole  of  that  night  in  pre 
paring  it,  and  the  next  morning,  nearly  delirious  with  fever,  travelled 
to  Elizabethtown,  where  the  funeral  ceremonies  were  to  be  held. 

During  the  sermon  his  friends  perceived  with  regret  and  alarm, 
that  he  was  nearly  prostrated  by  his  disease  ;  this  was  his  last  ser 
mon.  From  Elizabethtown  he  returned  to  his  home  at  Princeton, 
where  he  expired  from  the  effects  of  the  fever,  September  24, 
1757.  His  funeral  was  celebrated  in  the  college  chapel,  and  his 
remains  interred  in  the  college  churchyard,  where,  eighty  years 
after,  the  body  of  his  famous  son  was  brought  for  burial. 

Few  men,  probably,  have  been  more  sincerely  mourned  than 
was  President  Burr.  A  large  concourse  of  people,  comprising 
many  of  the  magnates  of  the  land,  gathered  at  his  funeral.  A 
glowing  eulogium  was  pronounced  upon  him  by  Governor  Living 
ston,  of  New  Jersey,*  and  the  press  and  the  pulpit  vied  in  paying 
manly  tributes  to  his  virtue,  talents  and  beneficence. 

Of  President  Burr's  personal  appearance  and  habits  we  have 
but  few  details,  and  they  are  chiefly  supplied  by  his  biographer, 
Dr.  Stearns,  and  by  Gov.  Livingston. 

According  to  Dr.  Stearns,  he  was  small  in  stature,  and  of  a 
delicate  frame  but  capable  of  great  effort. 

*  Afterward  published :  a  copy— and  the  only  one  that  I  have  been  able  to  find,— is  pre 
served  in  the  Library  of  the  Mass.  Historical  Society,  Boston. 


REV.  AARON  BURR,  D.  D.  73 

"  He  was  a  small  man,  and  very  handsome,  with  clear  dark 
eyes  of  a  soft  luster,  a  slender,  shapely  person,  and  the  style  and 
bearing  of  a  prince,"  said  the  letter- writers  of  his  day. 

"  To  encounter  fatigue,"  says  Gov.  Livingston,  "  he  had  a 
heart  of  steel,  and  for  the  despatch  of  business  the  most  amazing 
talents.  As  long  as  an  enterprise  appeared  not  absolutely  impos 
sible,  he  knew  no  discouragement,  but  in  proportion  to  its  diffi 
culty  augmented  his  diligence,  and  by  an  insuperable  fortitude, 
frequently  accomplished  what  his  friends  and  acquaintances 
deemed  utterly  impossible.  In  private  intercourse  he  was  modest, 
easy,  courteous  and  obliging." 

A  perfect  master  of  the  art  of  pleasing  in  company,  his  presence 
threw  a  charm  over  every  social  circle.  Temperate  even  to  abste 
miousness,  he  was  a  lover  of  hospitality,  and  possessing  ampler 
means  than  most  of  his  brethren,  he  distinguished  himself  as  a 
bounteous  giver. 

••As  a  pastor,"  says  Dr.  Stearns,  "  Mr.  Burr  was  eminently 
faithful  and  assiduous  ;  of  winning  manners  and  distinguished 
skill  in  finding  out  and  opening  the  avenues  of  the  heart,  he  em 
ployed  his  address,  learning,  and  activity  for  the  promotion  of  the 
moral  improvement  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  souls  committed 
to  him." 

Gov.  Livingston  also  touches  upon  this  topic. 

"  He  was  none  of  those  downy  doctors  who  soothe  their  hear 
ers  into  delusive  hopes  of  Divine  acceptance,  or  substitute  exter 
nal  morality  in  the  room  of  vital  godliness.  On  the  contrary,  he 
scorned  to  proclaim  the  peace  of  God,  until  the  rebel  had  laid 
down  his  arms  and  returned  to  his  allegiance.  He  was  an  am 
bassador  that  adhered  inviolably  to  his  instructions,  and  never  ac 
ceded  to  a  treaty  that  would  not  be  ratified  in  the  court  of  Heaven. 
He  searched  the  conscience  with  the  terror  of  the  law,  before 
he  assuaged  its  anguish  with  the  balm  of  Gilead,  or  presented  the 
sweet  emollients  of  a  bleeding  Deity.  He  acted  in  short,  like  one 
not  intrusted  with  the  lives  and  fortunes,  but  the  everlasting  in 
terests  of  his  fellow  mortals,  and  therefore  made  it  his  business  to 
advance  the  divine  life,  and  restore  the  beautiful  image  of  God 
displaced  by  the  apostacy  of  man." 

This  may  seem  like  extraordinary  eulogy,  but  there  is  evidence 
that  it  was  truth. 

There  are  several  portraits  of  President  Burr  in  existence,  but 
all  I  believe  copies  of  an  original  portrait,  which  was  captured  by 


74  FA1RFIELD  BRANCH. 

the  British  during  the  [Revolution,  and  somewhat  defaced,  but 
was  afterward  recovered  and  restored.  The  painting  in  the  col 
lege  library  is  copied  from  that  portrait. 

Mr.  Burr  was  not  a  voluminous  writer.  In  1752  he  published 
a  Latin  Grammar,  known  as  the  Newark  Grammar,  and  which 
was  used  in  the  college  long  after  his  death.  He  also  published  a 
pamphlet  of  60  pages  called  "  The  Supreme  Deity  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  Maintained;"  a  fast  day  sermon,  delivered  Jan.  1, 
1755.  "  The  Watchman's  Answer  to  the  Question,  What  of  the 
Night  ? "  A  sermon,  1756,  and  the  funeral  sermon  on  Gov. 
Belcher,  1757. 

A  Latin  Oration  by  him  on  the  death  of  Philip  Doddrige,  is 
still  preserved  in  manuscript  in  the  college  library. 

Fac-simile  of  Autograph  : 


His  monument  in  the  Princeton "  churchyard,  bears  this  in 
scription  : 

M.  S. 

Reverend!  admodum  viri 

AARONIS   BURR,   A.M. 

Collegii  Neo  Caesariensis  Praesidiis 

Natus  apud  Fairfield  Connecticutensium 

IV  Januarii   A.   D.   MDCCXVI 

S.  V. 
Honesta  in  eadem  Colonia  Familia  oriundus 

Collegio  Yalensi  innutritus 

Novarcse  Sacris  innutritus  MDCCXXXVIII 

Anno  circiter  viginti  pastorali  Munere 

Fideliter  Fructus 

Collegii  N.  C.  Presidium  MDCCXLVIII  accepit 

In  narsoviae  Aulam  sub  Finem  MDCCLVI  translatus 

Defunctus  hoc  vico  XXIV  Septeinbris 

A.  D.  MDCCLVII  S.  N. 

JEtatis  XLII  eheu  quam  brevis 

Huic  Marmori  subjicitur  quod  mori  potuit 

Quod  immortale  vindicarunt  coali 

Quseris  viator  Qualis  Quantusque  fuit 

Perpaucis  Accipe 


REV.  AARON  BURR,  D.  D.  75 

Vir  corpore  parvo  ac  tennui 

Studiis  vigiliis  assiduis  que  laboribus  macro 

Sagacitate,  Perspici  cacitate  Agilitate 

Ac  Solertia  (si  fas  dicere) 

Plus  quam  humana  pene 

Angelica 

Anima  ferme  totus 
Oninigena  Literatura  instructus 

Theologia  prsestantior 
Concionator  volubilis  suavis  et  suadus 

Orator  facundus 

Moribus  facilis  candidus  et  jucundus 

Vita  egregie  liberalis  ac  beneficus 

Supra  vero  omnia  emicuerunt 

Pietas  ac  Benevolentia 

Sed  ah  !  quanta  et  quota  Ingenii 

Industriae  Prudentiae  Patientiae 

Caeterarumque  omnium  virtutem 

Exemplaria 

Marmoris  Sepulcliralia  Augustia  Reticebit 
Multum  desideratus  multum  dilectus 

Humani  generis  Delicise 

O  !  infandum  sui  Desidarium 

Gemit  Ecclesia  plorat  accadeinia 

At  Coelum  plaudit  dum  ille 

Ingreditur 

In  Gaudium  Domini  Dulce  loquentis 
Enge  bone  et  fidelis 

Serve 
Abi  viator  tuam  respice  finem. 


COL.   AAEON  BUEE.     [123] 

IT  would  be  impossible  in  a  work  of  this  kind  to  ignore  the 
life  and  services  of  such  a  character  as  Aaron  Burr,  even  if  there 
was  any  desire  of  doing  so;  it  would  be  equally  impossible  for 
the  compiler,  having  after  careful  study,  reached  certain  conclu 
sions  regarding  him,  to  ignore  them,  and  write  in  the  strain  of 
calumny  and  reproach,  which  has  obtained  with  most  writers  in 
treating  of  this  remarkable  man — for  remarkable  he  was  beyond 
cavil — remarkable  in  his  ancestry,  his  achievements,  his  un 
exampled  misfortunes,  and  unexampled  fortitude.  His  was  a 
strong  character  though  a  faulty  one — a  character  that  commands 
respect  and  admiration,  while  at  the  same  time  one  cannot  avoid 
noticing  and  commenting  upon  many  defects.  In  this  work  the 
compiler  proposes  to  treat  of  him  with  independence,  without 
undue  bias,  and  certainly  without  prejudice,  stating  only  what  he 
believes  to  be  the  truth  in  regard  to  his  life  and  character. 

The  reader  will  please  remember  that  his  object  has  been  to 
prepare  a  careful,  accurate  sketch  of  his  distinguished  subject/ for 
preservation  in  a  family  memorial,  and  that  he  disclaims  any  com 
petition  in  point  of  literary  merit  or  finish,  with  the  biogra 
phers  that  have  preceded  him  ;  and  further,  if  any  one  feels  im 
pelled  to  differ  from  the  views  herein  advanced,  he  asks  from  them 
fair  and  honorable  treatment,  deprecating  the  harsh  invective  and 
coarse  abuse  that  has  hitherto  assailed  all  who  have  dared  express 
a  favorable  opinion  of  Aaron  Burr. 

To  gain  the  end  desired,  it  will  be  necessary  to  treat  of  his 
earlier  career  with  almost  the  pitiless  brevity  of  a  compendium. 
He  was  born  in  the  parsonage  of  the  First  Church,  Newark,  Feb. 
6,  1756.  Before  the  second  year  of  his  life  had  passed,  it  was 
clouded  by  the  death  of  his  father,  mother,  and  grandparents,  and 
he  was  left  to  the  hazardous  experiment  of  being  reared  in  an 
uncle's  family,  who,  however  conscientious,  was,  it  is  evident,  no  fit 
custodian  for  such  a  genius. 

This  uncle  was  Timothy  Edwards,  the  eldest  son  of  President 
Edwards;  he  resided  at  Elizabeth  town,  N.  J.,  and  at  the  age  of 
three  the  little  Aaron  became  an  inmate  of  his  family.  Left  an 


OOL.  AARON  BURR.  81 

ample  patrimony,  his  uncle  made  free  use  of  it  in  his  education, 
and  provided  for  him  an  excellent  tutor,  Mr.  Tappan  Keeve,  who 
some  years  later  became  his  brother-in-law,  and  later  still  was 
widely  known  as  Chief  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Connecti 
cut,  and  founder  of  the  Litchfield  Law  School.  So  precocious 
was  the  boy,  that  at  eleven  he  was  ready  for  college,  and  applied 
to  the  faculty  of  Princeton  for  admission,  but  was  refused  solely, 
as  he  himself  said,  "on  account  of  his  years  and  inches."  He 
contrived,  however,  to  triumph  over  the  faculty  by  entering  the 
sophomore  class  two  years  later,  in  1769,  and  graduated  with  dis 
tinction  in  September,  1772. 

The  year  that  followed  was  spent  partly  at  Princeton,  among 
his  books,  and  partly  at  Elizabeth  town  in  pursuit  of  those  manly 
sports  which  young  men  of  fortune  sometimes  affect.  During  this 
year  too,  the  subject  of  a  profession  was  much  in  his  thoughts.  His 
friends  and  the  Presbyterian  world  generally  expected  him  to  choose 
the  profession  which  his  father  and  grandfather  had  so  adorned. 
Conscience,  and  the  silent  influence  of  the  dead  impelled  him  in, the 
same  direction.  On  the  other  hand,  he  had  no  doubt  imbibed 
much  of  the  speculative  French  philosophy  then  so  rife,  and  which, 
while  it  questioned  the  truth  of  revelation,  pointed  to  the  attain 
ment  of  fame,  and  the  indulgence  of  passion  as  the  chief  means  of 
obtaining  happiness.  In  this  state  of  indecision,  he  became  in  the 
fall  of  1774,  an  inmate  of  Dr.  Bellamy's  famous  school  at  Bethle 
hem,  Connecticut.  This  gentleman  was  the  successor  in  theology 
of  President  Edwards,  and  his  reputation  for  learning  and  piety 
attracted  to  his  home  so  many  candidates  for  the  ministry,  that  it 
assumed  quite  the  character  of  a  theological  seminary. 

Here  Burr  fought  the  great  battle  of  Armageddon. 

We  cannot  give  the  details  of  the  conflict,  or  say  how  largely 
the  result  was  due  to  the  absurd  and  repelling  system  of  theology 
then  in  vogue,  but  we  know  that  the  result  of  his  studies  was  a 
conviction,  to  use  his  own  words  "  that  the  road  to  heaven  was  open 
to  all  alike,"  and  that  he  resolved  there  to  maintain  henceforth 
an  imperturbable  silence  on  religious  matters.  There  is  however 
no  evidence  that  he  adopted  extreme  atheistic  views. 

In  the  fall  of  1774,  we  find  him  a  law  student  with  Tappan 
Reeve,  now  the  proud  husband  of  pretty  Sallie  Burr,  and  principal 
of  a  law  school  at  Litchfield,  Conn.,  which  had  already  become  fa 
mous.  For  a  few  months  only  Burr  pored  over  his  musty  law-books, 
then  the  guns  of  Lexington  summoned  him  to  arms  with  thou- 
6 


82  FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

sands  of  other  gallant  spirits,  and  buckling  on  his  sword  he  set  off 
without  delay  to  join  the  army  at  Boston. 

It  was  in  July,  1775  that  Burr  and  his  friend  Ogden, — after 
ward  Colonel. — joined  the  Continental  army,  and  it  was  in  August 
of  the  same  year  that  after  five  weeks  of  inaction,  he  rose  from  a 
sick  bed  to  volunteer  in  Col.  Benedict  Arnold's  expedition  then  pre 
paring  for  its  famous  march  through  the  wilderness  of  Maine  to 
strike  Quebec  and  Canada.  He  armed  and  equipped  a  company 
at  his  own  expense,  and  taking  command,  with  the  rank  of  Captain, 
marched  them  to  Newburyport,  Mass.,  where  the  little  army  was  to 
rendezvous. 

On  Tuesday  the  19th  of  September,  at  ten  in  the  morning,  the 
expedition  1,100  strong  embarked  and  stood  away  for  the  mouth  of 
the  Kennebec,  which  they  reached  on  the  23d.  From  that  point 
they  were  to  follow  the  Kennebec  to  Dead  River,  up  that  stream  to 
its  source  near  Bald  Mountain,  then  over  a  portage  of  a  few  miles 
to  Lake  Megantic  the  source  of  the  Chaudiere,  which  would  lead 
them  to  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Quebec.  This  journey  was  to  be 
performed  through  an  unbroken  wilderness  600  miles  in  extent. 
On  the  4th  of  October  the  army  took  leave  of  houses  and  settle 
ments,  and  plunged  into  this  wilderness  ;  27  days  after,  on  the  31st 
of  October,  they  reached  the  settlements  on  the  Chaudiere  River. 
These  were  days  of  the  severest  privations ;  thirty  times  or  more 
the  boats  were  unloaded  and  borne  across  portages,  miles  in  length, 
or  hauled  by  main  strength  around  rapids  and  falls.  Once  a  sud 
den  flood  destroyed  half  the  boats  and  provisions,  and  starvation 
threatened  the  troops.  For  days  they  lived  upon  dogs  and  reptiles, 
they  even  ate  the  leather  of  their  shoes  and  cartridge-boxes,  and 
every  thing  that  could  afford  nourishment.  Many  sickened,  others 
deserted,  and  when  at  last  they  approached  the  settlements  it  was 
found  that  sickness,  death  and  desertion,  had  reduced  their  num 
bers  to  barely  600  effective  men. 

Through  it  all  our  young  soldier  displayed  the  courage  and  en 
durance  of  a  veteran.  He  animated  the  men  with  his  sprightli- 
ness  and  wit,  or  he  led  hunting  parties  in  quest  of  game  ;  or  in 
the  van  of  his  division  steered  the  foremost  boat  in  its  descent  of 
the  turbulent  river  ;  in  all  positions  he  proved  himself  a  worthy 
member  of  the  gallant  six  hundred  who  marched  with  Arnold 
through  the  wilderness,  and  came  out  strong  in  life  and  limb,  be 
fore  Quebec. 

As  the  force   approached  the  latter  place  a  messenger  was 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  83 

needed  to  communicate  with  Montgomery,  then  at  Montreal,  120 
miles  distant.  No  one  volunteered  for  this  perilous  enterprise 
until  at  last  " little  Burr"  stepped  out.  Arnold,  running  his  eye 
over  the  stripling,  demurred  to  sending  such  a  youth,  but  Burr 
persisted,  and  at  length  the  commission  was  given  him. 

Fertile  of  expedient,  he  had  already  devised  a  plan  for  execut 
ing  his  mission.  Knowing  that  the  religious  chiefs  of  the  country 
were  opposed  to  British  rule,  he  donned  the  garb  of  a  young  priest, 
and  sought  an  interview  with  the  chief  of  a  religious  house  near 
by,  and  to  him,  after  a  few  preliminaries,  frankly  unfolded  his 
plan  ;  this,  the  worthy  prelate,  after  his  astonishment  had  passed, 
heartily  seconded,  and  Burr  was  passed  quickly  and  safely  from 
one  religious  house  to  another,  in  the  disguise  of  a  priest,  until  he 
reached  Montgomery,  who  was  so  delighted  with  his  address  and 
gallantry  that  he  made  him  his  aid-de-camp  on  the  spot,  with  i>he 
rank  of  captain. 

Twenty-four  hours  after,  Montgomery,  with  his  300  available 
men,  was  on  the  march  to  join  Arnold  at  Quebec.  They  arrived 
there  December  1,  1775.  The  succeeding  thirty  days  history  has 
made  immortal. 

There  was,  first,  the  council  of  war  which  decided  on  the  as 
sault,  and  which  gave  to  Burr  the  command  of  a  forlorn  hope  of 
forty  men,  whom  he  was  to  select  and  drill  in  the  use  of  scaling 
ladders,  ropes,  grapnels,  and  all  the  paraphernalia  of  the  assault. 
After  the  council  came  the  long  waiting  for  the  midnight  storm, 
which  burst  upon  them  at  last  on  the  31st  of  December.  At  five 
in  the  morning  the  order  to  assault  was  given,  the  air  then  being 
so  thick  with  snow  that  every  thing  was  hidden  :  900  men  an 
swered  to  the  roll  call.  These  were  divided  into  four  parties,  two 
for  the  attack  and  two  to  distract  the  enemy's  attention  by  feints 
at  various  points. 

Arnold  led  one  of  the  attacking  parties  and  Montgomery  the 
other.  Side  by  side  with  his  general  that  morning  marched 
Captain  Burr;  beside  them  were  two  other  aids,  a  sergeant  and  the 
French  guide,  these  six  constituting  the  group  in  advance.  The 
column  swept  swiftly  and  silently  along  the  St.  Lawrence  toward 
the  defences  under  Cape  Diamond,  and  in  a  few  moments  struck 
the  first  of  these — a  line  of  pickets  firmly  fastened  in  the  ground. 
These  were  wrenched  away  in  an  instant,  and  the  column  rushed 
an  to  a  second  line.  Here  it  was  discovered  by  the  British  guard, 
who  fired  an  ineffectual  volley  and  fled  in  dismay  to  a  block-house 


84  FAIRF1ELD  BRANCH. 

a  few  yards  in  the  rear.  This  latter  was  quite  a  fortress,  built  of 
ponderous  logs,  loop-holed  above  for  musketry,  and  pierced  below 
for  two  twelve-pounders,  which,  charged  with  grape  and  canister, 
commanded  the  gorge  up  which  the  party  was  now  advancing. 
The  garrison,  wild  with  fear,  fled  precipitately  without  firing  a  shot. 
Thus  the  gate  to  the  city  was  thrown  wide  open,  but  the  besiegers 
failed  to  appear  in  the  breach  ;  they  were  some  yards  below,  strug 
gling  with  the  huge  blocks  of  ice  which  a  winter  flood  in  the  St. 
Lawrence  had  left  in  their  path. 

At  this  critical  juncture  one  of  the  fugitives  ventured  back  to 
the  block-house  ;  peeping  through  one  of  the  port-holes,  he  saw  the 
attacking  column  a  few  yards  off  and  turned  to  fly  again,  but  as 
he  did  so,  touched  a  match  to  one  of  those  loaded  cannon.  That 
simple  act  saved  Quebec.  Montgomery,  the  two  aids,  the  sergeant, 
every  man  that  marched  in  front  of  the  column,  except  Burr  and 
the  guide,  were  stricken  down  by  the  discharge,  and  in  a  moment 
the  fortunes  of  the  day  were  changed,  and  the  victory  which, 
seemed  in  the  grasp  of  the  provincials  was  turned  into  defeat. 
"  At  this  critical  moment,"  says  Mr.  Parton,  "  Burr  was  as  cool,  as 
determined,  as  eager  to  go  forward  as  at  the  most  exultant  moment 
of  the  advance." 

"  When  dismay  and  consternation  universally  prevailed,"  testi 
fied  Capt.  Platt,  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene,  "  Burr  animated  the 
troops  and  made  many  efforts  to  lead  them  on,  and  stimulated 
them  to  enter  the  lower  town."  But  the  enemy  reappeared  in 
force  at  the  block-house  and  the  commanding  officer  ordered  a  re 
treat,  by  this  act  giving  Capt.  Burr  an  opportunity  to  perform  an 
action  that  redeems  humanity  and  proved  him  the  impulsive,  gen 
erous  being  that  his  friends  knew  him  to  have  been.  As  the  deed 
itself  has  been  called  in  question,  I  give  an  account  of  it  in  the 
words  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Spring,  Chaplain  in  Arnold's  expedition, 
and  who  was  present  at  the  assault.  After  describing  the  attack 
ne  says  :  "It  was  a  heavy  snow  storm,  Montgomery  had  fallen,  the 
British  troops  were  advancing  towards  the  dead  body,  and  little 
Burr  was  hastening  from  the  fire  of  the  enemy ,  up  to  his  knees  in 
snow,  with  Montgomery's  body  on  his  shoulders"  Some  forty 
yards  he  staggered  on  under  his  burden,  and  was  then  obliged  to 
drop  it  to  avoid  capture  by  the  enemy.  *  See  Appendix  D. 

Thirty  years  later  his  friends  were  fond  of  detailing  this  inci 
dent  in  the  face  of  the  clamor  that  arose  against  Aaron  Burr  the 
traitor. 


COL.  AAEON  BURR.  85 

Captain  Burr  remained  with  the  command  until  May, — a  part 
of  the  time  performing  the  duties  of  brigade  major — and  then  re 
signed  and  set  out  for  New  York,  via.  Albany. 

He  arrived  in  New  York  safely  and  served  for  a  time  as  Wash 
ington's  aid,  but  not  liking  the  clerical  duties  which  the  position 
imposed,  he  was  soon  after  transferred,  at  the  instance  of  G-overnor 
Hancock,  to  the  staif  of  Gen.  Putnam,  then  busily  engaged  in 
fortifying  the  city  against  the  British  force  in  the  harbor.  Put 
nam  gave  him  work  to  do,  the  stirring  active  work  of  the  soldier, 
and  with  him  he  was  perfectly  contented. 

A  few  days  after,  occurred  the  disastrous  battles  of  Long 
Island,  and  the  famous  retreat  of  the  Americans  from  Manhattan. 

In  this  retreat  Capt.  Burr  was  the  hero  of  an  action  which 
won  him  almost  universal  applause.  He  had  been  scouting  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  island,  and  was  flying  in  full  gallop  before  the 
enemy,  when  he  came  upon  an  American  brigade,  sheltered  in  a 
mud  fort,  which  stood  on  or  about  the  present  line  of  Grand  Street. 
"  What  are  you  doing  here  ?  "  Burr  demanded.  Gen.  Knox  the 
commander  explained  that  he  had  been  left  behind  by  mistake, 
and  deeming  himself  surrounded,  he  had  determined  to  hold  the 
fort.  Burr  ridiculed  the  idea,  and  addressing  the  men,  told  them 
if  they  remained  there  they  would  surely  be  in  the  British  prison 
ships  before  morning.  He  then  led  them  by  blind  and  circuitous 
paths  to  the  Hudson,  and  safely  rejoined  the  main  army,  with  the 
loss  of  but  a  few  stragglers.  These  men  ever  after  regarded  him 
as  their  deliverer  from  British  prison  ships,  and  the  whole  army 
rang  with  his  praises,  yet  his  name  was  not  even  mentioned  in  the 
dispatches  of  the  commander-in-chief.  In  1777,  Captain  Burr  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lieut.  Colonel.  His  superior  officer,  Col. 
Malcolm,  was  a  New  York  merchant  of  no  military  ability,  and  the 
actual  command  of  the  regiment  devolved  upon  Burr.  This  re 
sponsibility  he  cheerfully  assumed,  and  in  a  few  months  brought 
his  men — all  raw  levies — into  the  most  perfect  state  of  discipline. 

Through  the  fall  of  this  year  his  regiment  was  detailed  for 
scouting  duty  in  New  Jersey,  then  the  debatable  ground  between 
the  two  armies. 

Here  he  first  met  Mrs.  Prevost,  the  widow  of  a  British  officer, 
then  residing  at  Paramus,  and  who  afterward  became  his  wife. 

In  November  he  joined  the  main  army  for  the  winter  canton 
ment  at  Valley  Forge,  and  through  the  winter  was  in  command 
of  a  very  responsible  post  called  "  the  Gulf,"  some  ten  miles  dis- 
iiii»"'"'  '  i 

OF  THE  \ 

UNIVERSITY  I 

OF 


86  FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

tant  from  the  main  body,  and  which  would  be  the  point  first  at 
tacked,  should  the  enemy  make  a  descent  on  the  camp.  He  owed 
this  appointment  it  is  said,  to  Gen.  McDougall,  who  had  been  his 
superior  officer  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island.  He  next  saw  active 
service  at  the  famous  battle  of  Monmouth,  June  28,  and  30.  1778. 
Here  he  commanded  a  brigade  in  Lord  Sterling's  division  and  fully 
sustained  that  reputation  for  address  and  gallantry  which  he  had 
before  earned.  After  the  battle,  almost  worn  out  with  fatigue  and 
exposure,  he  was  sent  to  New  York  with  orders  to  watch  the  ene 
my's  movements  in  that  quarter  and  report,  which  task  he  per 
formed  with  the  utmost  spirit  and  success.  Returned  from  this 
duty,  he  was  ordered  to  march  at  once  with  his  regiment  to  West 
Point ;  the  regiment,  however,  went  forward  without  him,  he  being 
detailed  on  the  eve  of  departure,  for  the  delicate  service  of  con 
ducting  several  influential  tories  within  the  British  lines.  A  few 
weeks  later  he  reported  at  West  Point,  but  finding  himself  com 
pletely  broken  in  health,  he  wrote  to  Washington,  asking  leave  of 
absence  without  pay,  until  the  next  campaign,  and  urging  as  a 
reason  his  utter  unfitness  for  military  duty.  Washington  granted 
him  leave  of  absence  but  continued  his  pay.  This,  however,  Burr 
utterly  refused  to  accept,  and  the  matter  was  compromised  bv  his 
being  placed  in  command  of  West  Point,  where  he  remained  until 
his  health  was  in  a  measure  regained.  He  was  now  twenty-three 
years  of  age. 

About  the  1st  of  January,  1779,  Col.  Burr  received  his  last  and 
most  important  command,  being  placed  in  charge  of  the  West- 
chester  "  lines,"  extending  from  the  Hudson  to  the  Sound,  a  dis 
tance  of  14  miles,  traversing  a  section  the  most  lawless  and  turbu 
lent  in  the  country,  and  which  former  commanders  had  utterly 
failed  to  control  ;  here  Whigs  plundered  Tories,  and  Tories  harried 
Whigs  with  the  utmost  impartiality,  and  both  parties  combined  to 
plunder  the  peaceful  Quakers,  who  formed  by  far  the  largest  por 
tion  of  the  population.  To  check  these  marauders,  Burr  pro 
claimed  martial  law,  and  proceeded  to  punish  all  offenders  with 
the  utmost  rigor.  His  energy  was  untiring,  and  his  vigilance 
argus-eyed. 

To  protect  his  posts,  he  prescribed  for  himself  and  his  subor 
dinates  a  course  of  the  extremest  vigilance,  and  visited  with  the 
severest  penalties  any  departure  from  it.  Next  he  prepared  a  list 
of  the  inhabitants  of  his  district,  and  divided  them  into  their 
several  classes,  such  as  Whigs,  Tories,  half  whigs,  spies  and  others  ; 


COL.  ARRON  BURR.  87 

and  further  prepared  an  accurate  map  of  the  country,  showing  the 
roads,  creeks,  swamps,  woods  and  other  avenues  of  escape  for  par 
ties  flying  from  pursuit.  To  these  safeguards,  he  added  a  perfect 
system  of  scouts  and  espionage,  and  so  managed  all,  that  order  and 
quiet  was  restored  to  the  whole  region  covered  by  his  force. 

If,  during  this  winter  he  showed  himself  gallant  in  war,  he 
also  proved  himself  no  laggard  in  love,  for  twice  during  the  period, 
he  contrived  to  visit  Mrs.  Prevost,  at  Paramus,  thirty  miles  dis 
tant,  on  both  occasions  at  night,  and  with  such  secrecy  that  his 
absence  from  camp  was  not  suspected. 

But  the  labors  of  this  command  proved  to  be  too  exhaustive 
a  drain  on  a  once  splendid,  but  now  enfeebled  constitution,  and 
on  the  10th  of  March,  1779,  he  was  forced  to  send  in  his  com 
mission  to  Gen.  Washington,  stating  the  circumstances  of  his 
case,  and  asking  a  discharge  ;  in  reply,  Washington  wrote  a  letter 
accepting  his  resignation,  and  regretting  "  not  only  the  loss  of  a 
good  officer,  but  the  causes  which  made  it  necessary." 

Thus,  after  four  years  of  active  military  life,  Col.  Burr  became 
again  a  private  citizen. 

Eighteen  months  were  spent  in  recruiting  his  shattered  health, 
then  he  resumed  the  legal  studies  which  four  years  before  he  had 
laid  down  at  the  call  of  his  country.  His  first  tutor  was  Judge 
Patterson,  of  New  Jersey ;  but  not  satisfied  with  his  progress  under 
him  he  removed,  in  the  spring  of  1781,  to  Haverstraw,  N.  Y.,  and 
took  up  his  abode  with  Mr.  Thomas  Smith,  a  lawyer  of  note,  for 
merly  of  New  York,  but  now  thrown  out  of  business  by  the  Brit 
ish  occupation  of  that  city.  Here  Burr  pursued  his  studies  with 
the  utmost  dispatch,  living  abstemiously,  and  poring  over  his  books 
twenty  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four. 

There  were  several  reasons  for  this  intense  application.  His 
splendid  patrimony  was  all  gone,  spent  largely  with  that  inconsid 
erate  generosity  which  was  his  bane,  to  feed,  clothe,  and  arm  the 
destitute  soldiers  of  his  command,  and  his  purse  needed  replenish 
ing.  Again  the  success  of  the  American  cause,  then  well  assured, 
would  give  to  the  Whig  lawyers  all  the  business  and  emoluments 
of  the  profession.  Lastly,  he  contemplated  marriage,  and  only  a 
lucrative  practice  stood  in  the  way  of  home  comforts  and  domestic 
happiness.  After  reading  law  twelve  months  this  man  of  wonderful 
gifts  thought  himself  competent  to  practice,  and  applied  for  admis 
sion  to  the  bar  ;  but  to  his  dismay  he  was  confronted  with  a  rule  of 
the  court  which  required  candidates  to  spend  at  least  three  years  in 


88  FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

the  study  of  the  law  ;  he  could  boast  of  but  one,  nor  could  he  find  a 
lawyer  disinterested  enough  to  move  a  suspension  of  the  rule.  He 
therefore  appeared  in  court  and  himself  offered  and  argued  the  mo 
tion,  reminding  the  court  that  but  for  his  services  in  the  field  he 
would  long  before  have  completed  his  studies,  and  that  in  his  case  at 
least  there  were  grave  reasons  for  the  suspension  of  the  rule.  The 
judge,  after  hearing  his  plea,  decided  that  the  rule  might  in  his 
case  be  dispensed  with,  provided  he  could  show  that  he  possessed 
the  requisite  qualifications,  and  a  most  rigorous  examination  hav 
ing  proved  his  fitness,  he  was  licensed  an  Attorney  on  the  19th  of 
January,  1782. 

The  young  lawyer  at  once  took  an  office  in  Albany  and  began 
the  practice  of  the  law,  and  was  so  successful  that  in  three  months 
he  thought  it  prudent  to  marry. 

The  wedding  accordingly  took  place  July  2,  1782,  in  the  Dutch 
Eeformed  Church  at  Paramus,  the  Rev.  David  Bogart,  pastor 
of  the  church,  performing  the  ceremony.  This  marriage  certainly 
gives  no  color  to  the  popular  belief  that  Col.  Burr  was  a  cold, 
selfish,  unprincipled  schemer,  with  an  eye  always  open  to  the  main 
chance.  He  was  young,  handsome,  well  born,  a  rising  man  in  his 
profession,  and  might  no  doubt  have  formed  an  alliance  with  any 
one  of  the  wealthy  and  powerful  families  that  lent  lustre  to  the 
annals  of  their  State.  This  would  have  been  the  course  of  a  poli 
tician.  But  Burr,  disdaining  these  advantages,  married  a  lady 
without  wealth,  position,  or  beauty,  and  at  least  ten  years  his  senior, 
simply  because  he  loved  her,  and  he  loved  her,  it  is  well  to  note, 
because  she  had  the  truest  heart,  the  ripest  intellect,  and  the  most 
winning  and  graceful  manners  of  any  woman  he  had  ever  met. 

It  was  a  favorite  remark  of  his,  in  later  years,  that  if  he  was 
more  easy  and  graceful  in  manner  than  other  men  it  was  from  the 
unconscious  influence  of  her  spirit  and  graces  upon  him. 

I  think  it  should  be  mentioned  here — because  the  opposite  has 
been  stated — that  the  marriage  was  conducive  of  great  happiness 
to  both,  and  that  Col.  Burr  was  to  the  end  the  most  faithful  and  de 
voted  of  husbands.  The  young  couple  at  once  began  housekeep 
ing  in  a  pleasant  mansion  in  the  city  of  Albany,  and  there  they 
continued  to  reside,  (receiving  in  the  first  year  of  their  marriage  a 
lovely  daughter,  Theodosia,  to  their  home,)  until,  in  the  fall  of 
1784  Burr's  increasing  law  business  in  New  York  necessitated  his 
removal  to  that  city.  In  New  York  he  took  a  front  rank  among 
the  leaders  of  the  bar,  and  his  reputation  overwhelmed  him 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  89 

with  business ;  by  many  he  was  regarded  as  superior  even  to 
Hamilton. 

He  was  the  most  successful  lawyer  that  ever  plead,  and  it  is  said 
never  lost  a  case  in  which  he  was  alone  engaged.  Yet  the  general 
verdict  is  that  he  was  not  a  great  lawyer.  Perhaps  not.  He  cer 
tainly  never  affected  greatness.  A  soldier  by  nature  and  profession, 
he  regarded  the  end  from  the  beginning  and  carried  his  soldierly 
tactics  into  the  courts  ;  he  always  used  the  means  best  calculated 
to  gain  his  ends.  If  learning  and  eloquence  were  necessary,  he 
could  be  both  learned  and  eloquent.  If  appeal,  argument,  sarcasm, 
invective  promised  to  be  more  effective,  he  used  them,  or  he  would 
win  by  showing  the  weak  points  of  his  adversary's  case  rather  than 
the  strong  points  of  his  own. 

He  was  careful  to  go  into  action  thoroughly  furnished  ;  his 
weapons  were  always  at  command,  and  his  armor  without  flaw  ; 
like  most  lawyers,  he  at  times  skirmished  pretty  close  to  the  cita 
del  of  truth,  but  it  can  not  be  proved  that  he  ever  resorted  to 
dishonorable  means  to  gain  an  end,  while  it  must  be  said  in  his 
praise,  that  he  was  keenly  alive  to  the  interests  of  his  clients,  and 
was  never  known  to  betray  a  professional  trust. 

His  legal  practice  covered  a  period  of  nearly  sixty  years — 
one  of  the  longest  on  record,  and  many  of  his  cases  and  opinions, 
notably  the  Medcef  Eden  case,  and  the  opinion  on  the  contested 
election  in  New  York,  in  1792,  attracted  national  attention. 

One  thing  which  I  have  observed  in  regard  to  Col.  Burr,  is, 
that  as  a  lawyer  he  is  held  by  the  New  York  bar  in  the  greatest 
respect,  and  his  influence  for  good,  both  in  shaping  laws  and  pro 
moting  justice,  is  freely  admitted. 

His  first  appearance  in  politics  was  in  1784,  when  he  was  elect 
ed  to  a  seat  in  the  New  York  Assembly.  He  filled  the  same  po 
sition  in  1785.  In  1789,  Gov.  Clinton  appointed  him  Attorney 
General  of  New  York.  In  March,  1790,  the  legislature  named 
him  one  of  the  three  commissioners,  to  decide  and  classify  the 
claims  of  individuals  who  had  rendered  services,  or  sustained 
losses  in  the  Eevolutionary  War. 

The  next  year  he  was  placed  on  a  commission  with  the  Gov 
ernor,  Secretary,  Treasurer  and  Auditor,  to  sell  the  waste  and  un 
claimed  lands  of  the  State,  the  proceeds  to  be  applied  to  liquidating 
its  war  debt  and  claims.  The  ability  with  which  he  performed 
the  duties  of  these  positions,  was  the  main  cause  of  his  subse 
quent  marvelous  political  advancement. 


90  FAIEF1ELD  BRANCH. 

In  January,.  1791,  two  years  after  his  entrance  upon  public 
life,  he  was  elected  to  represent  the  State  of  New  York 
in  the  National  Senate,  and  on  the  24th  of  October — the 
first  day  of  the  session — he  took  his  seat  as  a  member  of 
that  body.  The  day  after,  he  received  a  very  flattering  recognition, 
being  appointed  chairman  of  the  committee  to  draft  the  senate's 
reply  to  the  President's  annual  address. 

Of  Col.  Burr's  course  in  the  senate,  we  have  only  the  most 
meagre  details.  That  body,  patterned  after  the  English  House  of 
Lords — then  sat  with  closed  doors,  and  little  more  than  the  record 
of  votes  was  given  to  the  public.  We  know,  however,  that  he  served 
the  full  term  of  six  years,  that  he  acted  generally  with  the  Repub 
lican  party,  that  he  was  the  acknowledged  leader  and  champion  of 
that  side  of  the  House,  that  he  advocated  among  other  important 
measures,  an  open  session  of  the  senate,  lower  rates  of  postage, 
substantial  aid  to  the  French  people  in  their  struggle  for  liberty, 
and  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery.  He  also  gained  a  great  repu 
tation  as  an  orator,  although  no  utterance  of  his  now  exists.  A 
great  speech  delivered  by  Col.  Burr  against  the  ratification  of  Jay's 
treaty  with  Great  Britain,  in  1795,  is  mentioned  by  the  newspapers 
of  that  day,  but  no  report  of  it  is  given. 

As  the  election,  in  April,  1792,  of  a  Governor  for  the  State 
of  New  York  drew  near,  Col.  Burr  was  frequently  mentioned  as 
a  candidate,  but  Hamilton's  adverse  influence  prevented  his 
nomination. 

In  1791.  Gov.  Clinton  nominated  him  to  the  bench  of  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  his  State,  but  he  declined  the  honor,  preferring 
his  seat  in  the  Senate. 

In  November,  1792,  the  young  nation  was  to  elect  for  the  sec 
ond  time  a  President  and  Vice  President. 

Washington,  it  was  well  known,  would  fill  the  first  office  ;  as  to 
the  incumbent  of  the  second,  some  uncertainty  existed.  John 
Adams  was  the  candidate  of  the  Federal  party ;  in  the  Republican, 
the  choice  lay  between  George  Clinton  and  Mr.  Burr,  but  Mr. 
Burr's  claims  were  in  the  end  set  aside,  and  Mr.  Clinton  was 
nominated. 

In  the  succeeding  presidential  election,  however,  our  hero  came 
more  prominently  before  the  country,  as  a  candidate  for  these 
high  offices.  In  that  canvass,  John  Adams  received  71  votes, 
Thomas  Jefferson  68,  Thomas  Pinckney  59,  and  Aaron  Burr  30. 
About  this  time,  and  while  he  was  in  the  Senate,  he  sustained  **\ 


COL.   AARON  BURR.  91 

irreparable  loss  in  the  death  of  his  wife,  from  cancer,  after  a  long 
and  painful  illness. 

How  much  Col.  Burr's  subsequent  misfortunes  were  due  to 
the  loss  of  this  estimable  lady,  can  not  be  determined,  but  it  is 
certain  that,  had  she  lived,  his  career  would  have  had  a  very  dif 
ferent  ending.  She  died  in  the  spring  of  1794.  On  the  4th  of 
March,  1797,  Col.  Burr's  term  in  the  Senate  expired,  and  he  was 
succeeded  by  Gen.  Philip  Sohuyler,  the  Federal  party  being  then 
in  the  ascendant  in  New  York. 

Burr  returned  to  his  law  business  in  the  metropolis,  without 
however  losing  his  hold  on  national  politics.  On  the  contrary  he 
had  formed  the  design  of  destroying  at  a  blow  Federal  supremacy 
in  the  United  States.  For  two  years  he  worked  in  silence,  then 
in  April.  1800.  the  time  came  for  him  to  show  his  hand. 

The  fourth  presidential  election  was  but  six  months  distant, 
and  the  rival  parties  were  already  in  the  field.  They  were  two — 
the  Federal,  a  party  of  old  renown,  strong  in  the  prestige  of  vic 
tory,  conservative,  arrogant,  English  in  everything  but  in  name, 
and  clinging  tenaciously  to  class  privileges  and  class  domination. 

Its  great  rival,  the  Republican  party,  was  liberal  and  progres 
sive  in  the  extreme.  It  was  the  popular  party,  par  excellence,  and 
as  much  French  as  the  other  was  English.  It  advocated  an  open 
senate,  a  free  press,  free  speech,  free  schools,  and  free  religion. 
Its  leading  principle  was  that  so  pithily  expressed  by  Mr.  Seward, 
"the  emancipation  of  the  masses  from  the  domination  of  classes." 

Of  this  party  Thomas  Jefferson  was  the  nominal  leader,  the 
historical  figure-head,  but  its  real  imperator  was  Aaron  Burr,  the 
man  who,  in  the  conflict  which  we  are  now  to  consider,  taught  it 
how  to  win.  In  those  days  the  legislature  of  each  State  cast  the 
vote  of  its  State  for  President.  It  early  became  apparent  that 
New  York  would  decide  the  presidential  contest.  It  was  also  ap 
parent,  that  if  the  Republicans  could  secure  the  New  York  legis 
lature,  (to  be  chosen  in  April,  1800,)  the  national  issue  was  al 
ready  decided,  and  to  attain  this  object  Burr  had  planned  and 
toiled  during  the  two  previous  years,  and  now  redoubled  his  ex 
ertions. 

It  was  a  mistake  of  Hamilton's  that  made  his  great  rival's  tri 
umph  possible.  That  chieftain  strong  in  Federal  supremacy,  gath 
ered  his  friends  together  a  few  weeks  before  the  election,  and  made 
out  a  list  of  his  candidates  from  the  city  for  assemblymen.  They 
were  all  his  personal  friends  and  men  of  but  little  weight  in  the 


92  FAIRF1ELD  BRANCH. 

community.  Burr,  when  the  slate  was  brought  to  him,  perceived 
at  once  his  adversary's  great  mistake,  and  proceeded  to  profit  by  it. 
He  immediately  sat  down  and  prepared  his  list  of  candidates.  At 
its  head  he  placed  George  Clinton,  so  long  Governor  of  the  State. 
Then  came  Gen.  Gates,  Brockholst  Livingston,  and  other  names 
of  national  reputation.  The  next  and  more  difficult  step  was  to 
persuade  these  gentlemen  to  allow  their  names  to  be  used,  but  by 
bringing  his  matchless  powers  of  persuasion  to  bear,  he  succeeded 
in  this  also.  Then  a  public  meeting  was  held  and  the  ticket  rati 
fied  with  immense  enthusiasm. 

Simultaneously  Burr  began  organizing  his  army  for  the  cam 
paign.  The  strictest  discipline  was  ordered  and  enforced.  "  Every 
member  was  obliged  to  submit  to  the  will  of  the  majority."  and 
"that  majority  was  made  to  move  at  the  beck  of  committees, 
which  concentrated  the  power  in  the  hands  of  a  few  individuals." 
Ward  and  general  meetings  were  held  almost  daily.  Complete 
lists  of  the  voters  were  made  out  with  the  political  history  and 
affiliations  of  each  ;  pamphlets  and  political  speeches  were  dissem 
inated,  and  no  means  left  untried  that  might  lead  to  success. 
The  polls  opened  April  20th,  and  closed  May  2d,  at  sunset,  and 
before  the  city  had  sunk  to  rest,  it  was  known  that  the  Republican 
cause  had  won  in  the  city  by  a  majority  of  490  votes.  This  decided 
the  election  throughout  the  State. 

Hamilton  seems  to  have  been  nearly  frantic  over  his  defeat,  or 
he  never  would  have  adopted  the  mean  expedient  which  he  did,  to 
wrest  from  his  opponents  the  fruits  of  their  hard  won  victory. 
He  at  once  called  a  caucus  of  his  party,  and  with  its  concurrence, 
wrote  to  Governor  Jay,  urging  him  to  call  an  extra  session  of 
the  old  legislature,  which  was  still  in  existence,  that  it  might  take 
the  power  of  choosing  presidential  electors  from  the  legislature 
and  give  it  to  the  people,  thus  leaving  the  whole  case  to  be  de 
cided  again  by  the  ballot.  This  letter  was  sent,  and  the  next  day 
a  complete  expose,  of  the  whole  plan,  with  an  account  of  the  cau 
cus,  and  the  contents  of  the  letter  were  published  in  the  Repub 
lican  journals,  to  the  no  small  astonishment  of  the  "  caucus," 
which  had  concocted  it.  Governor  Jay,  however,  refused  to  sanc 
tion  any  such  proceedings,  and  the  scheme  proved  futile. 

A  few  days  after  the  New  York  election,  a  Republican  caucus 
at  Philadelphia  nominated  Thomas  Jefferson  for  President,  and 
Aaron  Burr  for  Vice  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  election  which  followed  in  November,  resulted  in  the  well 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  93 

known  tie,*  Jefferson  having  73  votes,  Burr  73,  Adams  65,  Pinck- 
ney  64.  and  made  a  choice  by  the  House  of  Kepresentatives  neces 
sary.  Then  ensued  a  contest  such  as  was  never  known  before  in 
the  comparatively  peaceful  history  of  parties. 

The  politicians  were  painfully  active,  and  the  country  fairly 
ablaze  with  excitement.  The  main  interest  centered  of  course  on 
the  rival  chiefs,  who  remained  at  their  posts,  Jefferson  at  Wash 
ington,  and  Burr  at  Albany,  quietly  performing  his  duties  as  As 
semblyman. 

"Had  Aaron  Burr  not  aroused  prejudice  by  marrying  a  Brit 
ish  wife,  he  would  have  been  elected  President  by  a  large  major 
ity,"  was  the  remark  of  a  prominent  State  official,  to  the  writer. 
Perhaps  so  :  smaller  things  have  ere  this  changed  the  popular 
vote  and  the  gentleman  spoke  with  authority,  his  father  having 
been  the  fellow  aid  de  camp,  and  intimate  friend  of  Col.  Burr. 

But  whether  this  be  true  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  at  any  time 
between  the  declaration  of  the  vote  and  the  House's  decision 
thereon,  the  merest  whisper  on  his  part,  the  lifting  of  a  finger 
even,  would  have  placed  him  in  the  seat  of  Washington  and  of 
Adams.  The  Federal  party  was  almost  a  unit  in  his  support. 
Alike  from  his  antecedents  and  his  political  record,  they  argued 
that  his  ascendency  would  be  less  detrimental  to  Federalism  and 
the  public  good,  than  that  of  Jefferson.  In  a  file  of  the  "  Con 
necticut  Courant."for  1801,  published  at  Hartford,  and  the  organ 
of  the  Federal  party  in  New  England,  I  find  a  long  article  on 
this  "crisis,"  which  forcibly  and  even  vehemently  urges  Burr's 
claims.  "Col.  Burr,"  remarks  the  writer,  "is  a  man  of  the  first 
talents,  and  the  most  virtuous  intentions."  "A  man  who  resolves 
while  others  deliberate,  and  who  executes  while  others  resolve." 
In  the  same  article  the  writer  speaks  of  Jefferson  in  terms  much  less 
complimentary.  But  Connecticut  always  was  partial  to  Burr ; 
she  had  not  forgotten  the  services  of  his  fathers.  Cabot  of  Massa 
chusetts,  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  Secretary  Wolcot  of  Connecticut, 
and  many  others  openly  expressed  their  preference. 

He  had  a  strong  following  too  in  his  own  party.  Gov.  Clinton 
favored  him.  His  friends  in  New  York,  Swartwout,  Van  Ness, 
and  others  repeatedly  begged  permission  to  work  for  his  interests. 
But  Burr,  in  the  first  moments  of  the  contest,  seems  to  have  de 
cided  to  act  according  to  the  dictates  of  honor  and  probity. 

*  At  that  time  the  candidate  who  received  the  greatest  number  of  votes  was  declared 
President. 


fir 


94  FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

Dec.  16th,  the  day  after  the  tie  was  declared,  he  wrote  to  a 
friend,  disclaiming  all  competition.  "  As  to  my  friends,"  said  he, 
"  they  would  dishonor  my  views,  and  insult  my  feelings  by  a  sus 
picion,  that  I  would  submit  to  be  instrumental  in  counteracting 
the  wishes  and  expectations  of  the  United  States." 

That  he  maintained  this  position  all  through  the  contest  is 
shown  by  the  letters  of  his  cotemporaries,  many  of  them  his  per 
sonal  and  political  enemies.  Thus  Feb.  12th,  Judge  Cooper  of 
New  York,  father  of  the  novelist,  wrote  from  Washington  (where 
the  day  before  the  House  had  convened),  "We  have  postponed 
voting  for  the  President  until  to  morrow."  {f  All  stand  firm,  Jeffer 
son  8,  Burr  6,  divided  2.  "Had  Burr  done  anything  for  himself 
he  would  long  ere  this  have  been  President." 

Also  Bayard  of  Delaware  who  gave  the  casting  vote  for  Jeffer 
son,  wrote  to  Hamilton  soon  after  the  event,  giving  the  reasons 
for  his  action,  and  after  stating  certain  considerations  which 
would  have  induced  him  to  vote  for  Burr,  he  proceeds,  "'  but  I 
was  enabled  soon  to  perceive  that  he  (Burr)  was  determined  not 
to  shackle  himself  with  Federal  principles,"  and  further  on  in  the 
same  letter  he  says,  "  The  means  existed  of  electing  Burr,  but 
this  required  his  cooperation  :  by  deceiving  one  man,  (a  great 
block-he'ad)  and  tempting  two  (not  incorrupt),  he  might  have  se 
cured  the  majority  of  the  States." 

Other  testimony  might  be  advanced  to  disprove  the  charge 
often  made,  that  during  this  contest  Col.  Burr  intrigued  for  the 
Presidency.  The  result  disproves  it,  for  had  he  intrigued  at  all 
he  might  easily  have  won  ;  as  it  was,  the  house,  after  seven  days  of 
balloting  and  debate,  by  a  majority  of  one  State,  declared  Thomas 
Jefferson  President.  Aaron  Burr  receiving  the  next  highest  num 
ber  of  votes  became  of  course  Vice-President. 

For  the  next  four  years  we  behold  our  hero  at  the  summit  of 
his  power.  As  Vice-President,  he  was  presiding  officer  of  the  Sen 
ate,  and  never  before,  it  is  said,  were  the  duties  of  that  position 
performed  with  such  grace,  dignity,  and  impartiality ;  indeed 
this  impartiality,  in  a  strictly  partisan  contest,  in  the  Senate,  laid 
him  open  to  the  censure  of  his  party,  and  contributed  not  a  little 
to  his  ultimate  political  downfall. 

This  contest  occurred  during  the  session  of  1801,  over  the 
repeal  of  a  Judiciary  bill,  which  had  been  rushed  through  at  the 
close  of  the  last  Congress,  and  by  which  the  Federal  judges  had 
been  increased  by  twenty-three.  These  life  judgeships  Mr.  AM- 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  95 

ams,  in  the  last  hours  of  his  official  life,  had,  with  most  indecent 
haste,  filled,  and  by  this  action  so  exasperated  the  Kepublicans, 
that  they  determined  to  abolish  them  ;  hence  this  bill. 

At  one  stage  of  the  debate  upon  it,  the  Senate  was  tied,  and  it 
became  the  duty  of  the  President  to  give  the  casting  vote.  His 
decision  was  against  the  Republicans,  and  elicited  no  little  hostile 
criticism  from  the  party  organs.  At  a  later  period  he  gained  the 
ill  will  of  tb^e  Federalists  from  the  same  cause.  Equally  consci 
entious  and  honorable  was  his  course  in  the  impeachment  trial  of 
the  Federal  Judge  Chase,  charged  with  grossly  abusing  the  au 
thority  of  the  bench  in  certain  political  trials,  and  which  occurred 
toward  the  close  of  the  session  of  1805.  Commenting  upon  his 
course  in  this  trial,  Mr.  Parton  says,  "  The  dignity,  the  grace, 
the  fairness,  the  prompt,  intelligent  decision  with  which  the  Vice 
President  presided  over  the  august  court,  extorted  praise  even 
from  his  enemies."  "He  conducted  the  trial  with  the  dignity 
and  impartiality  of  an  angel,  but  with  the  rigor  of  a  devil,"  said 
an  eye-witness.  We  shall  find  further  evidence  as  we  proceed,  as 
to  the  scrupulous  impartiality  with  which  he  performed  the  du 
ties  of  this  office. 

As  Vice- President.  Col.  Burr,  his  friends,  and  the  country,  ex 
pected  that  he  would  succeed  Jefferson  in  the  Presidency.  In  this 
manner  Adams  had  succeeded  Washington,  and  Jefferson,  Adams. 
That  he  did  not  was  due  to  the  politicians,  and,  not  to  his 
own  acts,  nor  because  the  people  had  lost  confidence  in  him. 
The  election  of  1800  had  shown  his  commanding  position  in  na 
tional  politics,  and  served  to  combine  against  him  three  great 
factions  of  the  Republican  party. — the  Virginian  faction  led  by 
Thomas  Jefferson,  and  the  Clinton  and  Livingston  families  of 
New  York.  These  united  their  forces  to  crush  him  as  an  inter 
loper,  and  at  the  Republican  Convention  in  1804  he  was  quietly 
shelved  ;  his  name  not  even  being  mentioned  in  connection  with 
public  affairs. 

Burr  attributed  this  defeat  to  the  politicians,  and  resolved  to 
appeal  to  the  people.  Accordingly  in  the  New  York  election  of 
that  year,  he  was  announced  as  an  independent  candidate  for  Gov 
ernor.  The  Republican  party  nominated  Judge  Lewis  ;  the  Fed 
eral  party  made  no  nominations. 

Hamilton  threw  the  weight  of  his  great  influence  in  favor  of 
the  Republican  candidate:  so  did  Jefferson  ;  but  despite  these  fear 
ful  odds,  Burr  polled  a  vote  of  28,000,  against  his  adversary's 


96  FAIRF1ELD  BRANCH. 

35,000  ;  but  he  was  beaten.     This  was  his  last  appearance  in  poli 
tics,  one  more  tilt  and  he  quitted  the  political  field  forever. 

This  event  was  his  taking  formal  leave  of  the  Senate,  which 
occurred  March  2,  1804.  It  is  described  as  one  of  the  most  inter 
esting  and  affecting  ever  witnessed.  The  Senate  had  not  then 
opened  its  doors  to  the  public,  and  our  only  account  of  the  scene 
is  that  derived  from  a  report  in  the  Washington  Federalist,  "ob 
tained  from  the  relation  of  several  Senators  as  well  Federal  as  Re 
publican."  The  report  opens  with  a  summary  of  the  speech,  which 
was,  it  says,  "  the  most  sublime,  dignified  and  impressive  ever  ut 
tered."  Its  concluding  sentiments  only  we  have  room  to  present : 

"  But  I  now  challenge  your  attention  to  considerations  more 
momentous  than  any  which  regard  merely  your  personal  honor  and 
character — the  preservation  of  law,  of  liberty,  and  the  constitu 
tion.  This  House,  I  need  not  remind  you,  is  a  sanctuary ;  a  cita 
del  of  law,  of  order,  and  of  liberty  ;  and  it  is  here — it  is  here,  in 
this  exalted  refuge — here,  if  anywhere,  will  resistance  be  made  to 
the  storms  of  political  frenzy,  and  the  silent  arts  of  corruption  ; 
and  if  the  constitution  be  destined  ever  to  perish  by  the  sacrile 
gious  hands  of  the  demagogue,  or  the  usurper,  which  God  avert, 
its  expiring  agonies  will  be  witnessed  on  this  floor.  I  must  now  bid 
you  farewell.  It  is  probably  a  final  separation,  a  dissolution,  per 
haps  forever,  of  those  associations,  which  I  hope  have  been  mutu 
ally  satisfactory.  I  would  console  myself,  and  you,  however,  with 
the  reflection,  that  though  we  be  separated,  we  shall  still  be  en 
gaged  in  the  common  cause  of  disseminating  principles  of  freedom 
and  social  order.  I  shall  always  regard  the  proceedings  of  this 
body  with  interest  and  solicitude.  I  shall  feel  for  its  honor  and  for 
the  national  honor  so  intimately  connected  with  it,  and  now  take 
my  leave  of  you  with  expressions  of  personal  respect,  and  with 
prayers  and  good  wishes." 

"  At  the  conclusion  of  this  speech,"  proceeds  the  report,  "the 
whole  Senate  were  in  tears,  and  so  unmanned  that  it  was  half  an 
hour  before  they  could  recover  themselves  sufficiently  to  come  to 
order  and  choose  a  Vice  President  pro  tern. 

"  At  the  President's  on  Monday,  two  of  the  Senators  were  relat 
ing  these  circumstances  to  a  circle  which  had  collected  round 
them.  One  said  he  wished  that  the  tradition  might  be  preserved, 
as  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  events  he  had  ever  witnessed. 
Another  Senator,  being  asked,  on  the  day  following  that  on  which 
Mr.  Burr  took  his  leave,  how  long  he  was  speaking,  after  a  mo- 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  97 

ment's  pause,  said  he  could  form  no  idea  :  it  might  have  been  an 
hour  and  it  might  have  been  but  a  moment ;  when  he  came  to  his 
senses,  he  seemed  to  have  awakened  as  from  a  kind  of  trance.  As 
soon  as  the  Senate  could  compose  themselves  sufficiently  to  appoint 
a  President  pro  tern.,  they  came  to  the  following  resolution. 

Eesolved,  unanimously,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Senate  be  pre 
sented  to  Aaron  Burr,  in  testimony  of  the  impartiality,  dignity, 
and  ability  with  which  he  has  presided  over  their  deliberations, 
and  of  their  entire  approbation  of  his  conduct  in  the  discharge  of 
the  arduous  and  important  duties  assigned  him  as  President  of  the 
Senate. 

Thus  passed  this  ( '  well  graced  actor  "  from  the  political  scene. 
He  was  a  free  man  once  more.  What  will  he  do  next  ?  What 
new  project  will  his  busy  brain  and  hand  carve  out  ?  were  questions 
which  every  tongue  in  the  country  was  now  anxiously  asking. 

But  before  passing  to  the  later  events  of  his  career,  we  must 
pause  to  notice  an  event  which  had  occurred  a  few  months  before, 
and  which  exerted  a  powerful  influence  on  his  subsequent  fortunes. 
This  event  was  the  duel  with  Hamilton. 

Public  opinion,  the  judgment  of  apparent  facts,  is  sometimes 
correct,  often  unjust,  but  none  the  less  necessary.  Whether  or  not 
the  public  opinion  which  held  Burr  so  strictly  accountable  for  the 
death  of  Hamilton  was  just  or  unjust,  a  careful  consideration  of 
the  facts  anterior  to,  as  well  as  those  connected  with  the  duel,  in 
the  calm  unbiased  spirit  that  time  has  made  possible,  will  do  much 
to  determine. 

It  would  not  be  strange  if  we  should  find,  that,  in  his  case,  the 
popular  judgment  was  both  harsh  and  unjust,  that  he  was  as 
averse  to  the  duel  as  Hamilton  himself,  that  he  used  every  (except 
dishonorable)  means  to  avoid  it,  and  that  he  only  fought  when 
absolutely  forced  to  it,  by  the  course  of  his  rival  and  the  cruel 
dictum  of  society  ;  and  we  may  further  agree  and  conclude,  that 
he  was  the  real  victim  of  that  tragedy,  and  not  the  brilliant  genius 
who  fell  beneath  his  fire. 

But  for  the  facts.  And  first  as  to  the  provocation.  Without 
pausing  to  notice  the  unsoldierly  conduct  of  Hamilton  toward 
Burr,  while  both  were  in  the  army,  we  will  pass  at  once  to  the  pe 
riod  when  they  came  prominently  into  view  as  candidates  for  the 
highest  honors  of  the  State. 

In  the  presidential  canvass  of  1792,  Hamilton's  almost  insane 
7 


98  FA1RFIELD  BRANCH. 

jealousy  led  him  to  write  thus  of  the  man  against  whose  fair  fame 
hardly  a  breath  of  suspicion  had  been  raised  :  "  I  fear  the  other 
gentleman  (Burr)  is  unprincipled  both  as  a  public  and  private  man. 
In  fact  I  take  it  he  is  for  or  against  anything.,  as  it 
suits  his  interest  or  ambition.  He  is  determined,  as  I  conceive,  to 
make  his  way  to  the  head  of  the  popular  party  and  to  climb  per  fas 
aut  nefas  to  the  highest  honors  of  the  State,  and  as  much  higher  as 
circumstances  may  permit.  Embarrassed,  as  I  understand,  in  his 
circumstances,  with  an  extravagant  family,  bold,  enterprising  and 
intriguing,  I  am  mistaken  if  it  be  not  his  object  to  play  the  game 
of  conspiracy,  and  1  feel  it  to  be  a  religious  duty  to  oppose  his  ca 
reer."  Sept.  26,  he  wrote  again  to  another  friend,  Rufus  King  : 
"  Mr.  Burr's  integrity  as  an  individual,  is  not  unimpeached,  and 
as  a  public  man,  he  is  one  of  the  worst  sort.  ...  in  a  word, 
if  we  have  an  embryo  Ccesar  in  the  United  States,  it  is  Burr." 
These  words  were  not  the  confidential  utterances  of  one  friend  to 
another,  they  were  written  for  effect,  for  in  a  few  days  King  writes 
back,  that  "  Care  has  been  taken  to  put  our  friends  at  the  east 
ward  on  their  guard." 

In  1794,  Col.  Burr  was  nominated  by  his  party  as  Minister  to 
France,  but  Washington  refused  to  ratify  the  nomination.  "  It 
was,"  he  said,  "  the  rule  of  his  public  life,  to  nominate  no  one  for 
public  office  of  whose  integrity  he  was  not  insured."  But  when 
had  Burr's  integrity  been  questioned,  except  by  political  rivals  ?  or 
when  had  he  ever  betrayed  a  trust,  public  or  private  ?  The  in 
stance  cannot  be  found,  and  Washington's  distrust  at  th\s  time, 
may  readily  be  traced  to  the  potent  influence  of  Hamilton,  then 
the  confidential  man  of  his  administration. 

Again  in  1798,  when  French  insolence  had  provoked  the  young 
republic  to  warlike  measures,  and  an  army  had  been  voted,  and 
new  general  officers  appointed,  it  was  Hamilton  again  that  blighted 
Burr's  honest  military  ambitions.  Sturdy  John  Adams  gives  the 
details  in  a  letter  written  in  1815,  and  published  in  the  tenth  vol 
ume  of  his  works.  "I  have  never  known,"  he  writes,  "the  pre 
judice  in  favor  of  birth,  parentage  and  descent,  more  conspicuous 
than  in  the  instance  of  Col.  Burr.  That  gen  tie  man  was  connected 
by  blood  with  many  respectable  families  in  New  England.  .  .  . 
He  had  served  in  the  army,  and  came  out  of  it  with  the  character 
of  a  knight  without  fear,  and  an  able  officer.  He  had  afterward  ' 
studied  and  practiced  law  with  application  and  success.  Buoyed 
up  on  those  religious  partialities,  and  this  military  and  juridical 


COL.  A  AEON  BURR.  99 

reputation,  it  is  no  wonder  that  Governor  Clinton  and  Chancellor 
Livingston  should  take  notice  of  him.  They  made  him  Attorney 
General,  and  the  legislature  sent  him  to  Congress,  where,  I  believe, 
he  served  six  years.  At  the  next  election,  he  was,  however,  left 
out,  and  being  at  that  time  somewhat  embarrassed  in  circumstan 
ces,  and  reluctant  to  return  to  the  bar,  he  would  have  rejoiced  in 
an  appointment  in  the  army. 

"In  this  situation  I  proposed  to  Washington,  and  through  him 
to  the  triumvirate*  to  nominate  Col.  Burr  for  a  brigadier-general. 
Washington's  answer  to  me  was,  ( By  all  that  I  have  known  and 
heard,  Col.  Burr  is  a  brave  and  able  officer ;  but  the  question  is 
whether  he  has  not  equal  talents  at  intrigue.'  How  shall  I  de 
scribe  to  you  my  sensations  and  reflections  at  that  moment.  He 
had  compelled  me  to  promote  over  the  heads  of  Lincoln,  Clinton, 
Gates,  Knox,  and  others,  and  even  over  Pinckney,  one  of  his  own 
triumvirates  (Hamilton)  the  most  restless,  impatient,  artful,  inde 
fatigable,  and  unprincipled  intriguer  in  the  United  States,  if  not 
in  the  world,  to  be  second  in  command  under  himself,  and  now 
dreaded  an  intriguer  in  a  poor  brigadier.  He  did  however  pro 
pose  it,  at  least  to  Hamilton.  But  I  was  not  permitted  to  nomi 
nate  Burr.  If  I  had  been,  what  would  have  been  the  consequences  ? 
Shall  I  say  that  Hamilton  would  have  been  now  alive,  and  Hamil 
ton  and  Burr  now  at  the  head  of  our  affairs.  What  then  ?  If  I 
had  nominated  Burr  without  the  consent  of  the  triumvirate,  a 
negative  in  the  Senate  was  certain."  This  letter  is  interesting  as 
giving  Adams'  estimate  of  the  two  men  ;  it  also  shows  Hamilton's 
marvelous  facility  for  inoculating  every  one  he  met  with  his  own 
disease  of  Burrophobia. 

In  1800,  when  there  was  a  possibility  of  Burr  becoming  Presi 
dent,  Hamilton  renewed  more  openly  and  bitterly  his  attacks. 
Dec.  17,  1800,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  Wolcott  of  Connecticut, 
in  which  he  says,  "  Let  it  not  be  imagined  that  Mr.  Burr  can  be  won 
to  Federal  views  ;  it  is  a  vain  hope  ...  to  accomplish  his  end.  he 
must  lean  upon  unprincipled  men,  and  will  continue  to  adhere  to 
the  myrmidons  who  have  hitherto  surrounded  him.  To  these  he 
will  no  doubt  add  able  rogues  of  the  Federal  party  but  he  will  em 
ploy  the  rogues  of  all  parties  to  overrule  the  good  men  of  all  par 
ties,  and  to  prosecute  projects  which  wise  men  of  every  descrip 
tion  will  disapprove.  These  things  are  to  be  inferred  with  moral 

*  Washington,  Hamilton,  and  Pinckney. 


100  FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

certainty  from  the  character  of  the  man.  Every  step  in  his  career 
proves  that  he  has  formed  himself  upon  the  model  of  Catiline, 
and  that  he  is  too  cold-blooded  and  too  determined  a  conspirator 
ever  to  change  his  plan.  Alas,  when  will  men  consult  their  rea 
son  rather  than  their  passion  ?  Whatever  they  may  imagine,  the 
desire  of  mortifying  the  adverse  party,  must  be  the  chief  spring 
of  the  disposition  to  prefer  Mr.  Burr  .  .  .  Adieu  to  the 
Federal  Troy,  if  they  once  introduce  this  Grecian  horse  into  their 
citadel" 

The  August  before,  he  had  written  to  Senator  Bayard  of  Dela 
ware  :  "There  seems  to  be  too  much  probability  that  Jefferson 
or  Burr  will  be  President.  The  latter  is  intriguing  with  all  his 
might  in  New  Jersey,  Eh  ode  Island,  and  Vermont.  He  counts 
positively  on  the  universal  support  of  the  anti-Federalists,  and 
that  by  some  adventitious  aid  from  other  quarters  he  will  over 
top  his  friend  Jefferson.  Admitting  the  first  point,  the  conclusion 
may  be  realized,  and,  if  it  is  so,  Burr  will  certainly  attempt  to  re 
form  the  Government  a  la  Buonaparte.  He  is  as  unprincipled  and 
\dangerous  a  man  as  any  country  can  boast — as  true  a  Catilins  as 
ever  met  in  midnight  conclave. " 

These  letters  read  like  the  ravings  of  a  monomaniac  ;  they  are 
but  samples  of  many,  sown  broadcast  over  the  country  for  the  wle 
purpose,  as  we  must  conclude,  of  blighting  the  prospects  and  repu 
tation  of  Aaron  Burr.  With  his  tongue  Hamilton  was  even  more 
busy  and  venomous.  What  its  effect  was  on  the  community — 
corning  from  so  eminent  a  source — may  be  imagined.  All  this 
time  the  victim  was  ignorant  and  even  unsuspicious  of  his  rival's 
conduct ;  the  two  men  were  apparently  on  terms  of  friendship ; 
they  met  in  professional  consultations,  and  dined  at  one  another's 
tables.  It  was  in  1802,  I  believe,  that  Col.  Burr  first  heard  of 
Hamilton's  manner  of  conducting  political  campaigns,  and  he  at 
once  sought  a  personal  interview  and  demanded  an  explanation. 
This  Hamilton  gave,  and  admitted  that  in  the  heat  of  a  political 
canvass  he  had  spoken  hastily  of  Col.  Burr,  and  in  terms  not  usual 
with  gentlemen,  and  promised  to  be  more  careful  in  future.  But 
in  the  succeeding  campaign  of  1804,  partisan  rivalry  was  most 
intense,  and  Hamilton's  unguarded  expressions  more  violent  and 
bitter  than  ever  before  ;  so  much  so  that  Cheetham,  editor  of  the 
American  Citizen,  the  organ  of  the  Clintonian  Republicans,  paraded 
in  the  columns  of  his  newspaper  the  query,  Is  the  Vice- President 
sunk  so  low  as  to  submit  to  be  insulted  by  General  Hamilton  ? 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  101 

while  at  the  same  time  the  thousand  gossipy  tongues  of  society 
were  taking  up  and  repeating  the  same  question. 

Eeports  of  Hamilton's  COD  duct  were  brought  to  Burr  at  the 
close  of  the  campaign  by  certain  renegade  Federalists  driven  from 
the  ranks  by  their  chief's  arrogance  ;  but  he  seems  to  have  taken 
no  action  in  the  matter,  and  awaited  further  developments.  At 
length  his  attention  was  called  to  a  letter, — written  by  Dr.  Charles 
D.  Cooper,  of  New  York,  and  published  in  the  newspapers  dur 
ing  the  campaign — which  contained,  among  others,  the  following 
sentences : 

"  Gen.  Hamilton  and  Judge  Kent  have  declared  in  substance, 
that  they  looked  upon  Mr.  Burr  to  be  a  dangerous  man,  and  one 
who  ought  not  to  be  trusted  with  the  reins  of  government,"  and 
"  I  could  detail  to  you  a  still  more  despicable  opinion,  which  Gen. 
Hamilton  has  expressed  of  Mr.  Burr."  Col.  Burr  quietly  marked 
the  obnoxious  passages,  and  sent  them  by  the  hand  of  his  friend, 
William  P.  Van  Ness,  to  Gen.  Hamilton,  with  a  note  which  con 
cluded  as  follows  : 

"  You  must  perceive,  sir,  the  necessity  of  a  prompt  and  un 
qualified  acknowledgment  or  denial  of  the  use  of  any  expres 
sions  which  would  warrant  the  assertions  of  Mr.  Cooper."  The 
correspondence  which  followed  is  too  voluminous  for  insertion 
here.  In  it  Burr  maintained  the  position  taken  in  his  first  letter. 
Hamilton  denied  in  part,  equivocated,  hedged,  but  absolutely  re 
fused  to  make  the  unqualified  acknowledgment  and  denial  asked 
for  by  Col.  Burr.  Such  a  course  would  have  reinstated  his  rival 
in  public  confidence,  and  destroyed  the  work  of  years.  Society  too 
might  have  considered  it  an  apology  from  necessity  rather  than 
principle.  Burr,  on  his  part,  all  the  lion  in  him  roused  by  Ham 
ilton's  repeated  and  treacherous  attacks,  receded  not  a  whit  from 
his  original  demand.  In  one  of  his  letters  on  the  subject  he  most 
admirably  defined  his  position  : 

"  Political  opposition,"  said  he,  "  can  never  absolve  gentlemen 
from  the  necessity  of  a  rigid  adherence  to  the  laws  of  honor,  and 
the  rules  of  decorum.  I  neither  claim  such  privilege,  nor  indulge 
it  in  others.  The  common  sense  of  mankind  affixes  to  the  epithet 
adopted  by  Dr.  Cooper  the  idea  of  dishonor.  It  has  been  publicly 
applied  to  me,  under  the  sanction  of  your  name.  The  question  is 
not  whether  he  has  understood  the  meaning  of  the  word,  or  has 
used  it  according  to  syntax  and  with  grammatical  accuracy,  but 
whether  you  have  authorized  this  application,  either  directly,  or 


102  FA1RFIELD  BRANCH. 

by  uttering  expressions  or  opinions  derogatory  to  my  honor.''  And 
again  in  his  last  paper  drawn  up  for  the  guidance  of  his  second  he 
enlarges  upon  this  point. 

"  Aaron  Burr,  far  from  conceiving  that  rivalship  authorizes 
a  latitude  not  otherwise  justifiable,  always  feels  great  delicacy  in 
such  cases,  and  would  think  it  meanness  to  speak  of  a  rival,  but 
in  terms  of  respect ;  to  do  justice  to  his  merits,  to  be  silent  of  his 
foibles.  Such  has  invariably  been  his  conduct  toward  Jay, 
Adams,  and  Hamilton,  the  only  three  who  can  be  supposed  to 
have  stood  in  that  relation  to  him. 

"That  he  has  too  much  reason  to  believe  that  in  regard  to  Mr. 
Hamilton  there  has  been  no  such  reciprocity.  For  several  years 
his  name  has  been  lent  to  the  support  of  base  slanders.  He  has 
never  had  the  generosity,  the  magnanimity,  or  the  candor  to  con 
tradict  or  disavow.  Burr  forbears  to  particularize,  as  it  could  only 
tend  to  produce  new  irritations,  but  having  made  great  sacrifices 
for  the  sake  of  harmony,  having  exercised  forbearance  until  it  ap 
proached  humiliation,  he  has  seen  no  effect  produced  by  such  con 
duct,  but  a  repetition  of  injury. 

"  He  is  obliged  to  conclude  that  there  is  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Ham 
ilton,  a  settled  and  implacable  malevolence  ;  that  he  will  never 
cease  in  his  conduct  toward  Mr.  Burr,  to  violate  those  courtesies 
of  life,  and  that  hence  he  has  no  alternative  but  to  announce 
these  things  to  the  world,  which  consistently  with  Mr.  Burr's  ideas 
of  propriety,  can  be  done  in  no  way  but  that  which  he  has  adopted. 
He  is.  incapable  of  revenge,  still  less  is  he  capable  of  imitating 
the  conduct  of  Mr.  Hamilton  by  committing  secret  depreda 
tion  on  his  fame  and  character.  But  these  things  must  have 
an  end." 

These  are  hardly  the  words  of  a  vindictive,  blood-thirsty  villain, 
and  indeed  they  are  not,  for  a  more  amiable,  generous,  and  genial 
man  than  Col.  Burr  never  lived,  but  he  could  and  would  protect 
himself  when  wronged  beyond  endurance.  The  paper  last  quoted 
was  Burr's  ultimatum,  and  Hamilton  declaring  its  terms  inadmis 
sible,  both  parties  prepared  to  fight,  and  never  perhaps  since  the 
institution  of  the  code  was  a  meeting  so  inevitable  as  between  these 
two.  Both  were  soldiers,  devotees  of  honor  and  men  of  society. 
Both  had  recognized  the  code  by  their  presence,  either  as  princi 
pals  or  seconds,  at  several  affairs  of  honor,  and  both  were  well 
aware  that  their  position  in  politics  and  society  depended  on  their 
not  showing  the  white  feather  at  this  particular  crisis.  If  either 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  103 

of  the  principals  were  the  more  culpable,  it  was  Hamilton,  for  he 
was  the  aggressor,  and  a  few  words  from  him  might  have  prevented 
the  meeting.  But  thoughtful  men  will  find  the  real  culprit  in  the 
barbarous  blood-thirsty  public  opinion  of  the  day,  that  made  such 
Golgothas  as  that  at  Weehawken  both  necessary  and  honorable. 
The  challenge  was  given  and  accepted.  With  the  result  of  that 
meeting  the  world  is  acquainted.  Burr  escaped  unharmed,  the 
ball  from  his  adversary's  weapon,  cutting  the  twigs  near  his  head. 
Hamilton  received  a  mortal  wound,  from  which  he  died  after 
thirty-one  hours  of  intense  suffering.* 

The  popular  clamor  that  then  arose  against  Burr,  unjust  and 
indecent  as  it  was,  made  a  temporary  retirement  from  New  York 
necessary,  and  early  in  July  he  set  out  on  a  southern  tour,  visiting 
his  daughter,  Theodosifc^  her  home  at  the  "  Oaks,"  and  spending 
several  weeks  with  offl^Jlitical  friends  in  South  Carolina  and 
other  southern  States  ;  from  this  tour  he  returned  at  the  sitting  of 
Congress,  in  the  fall  of  1804,  to  resume  his  duties  as  President  of 
the  Senate,  as  before  related. 

in  the  spring  of  1805,  Col.  Burr  set  out  on  a  six  months'  tour 
through  the  western  and  southern  States.  On  his  return,  he  com 
menced  preparations  for  the  execution  of  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
and  stupendous  plans  of  empire  ever  conceived.  What  that  plan 
was,  we,  in  the  light  of  later  developments,  are  enabled  definitely 
to  determine. 

In  a  few  words,  he  proposed  to  wrest  Mexico — ignorant,  op 
pressed  and  degraded — from  the  rule  of  the  hated  Spaniard,  and 
to  rear  there  an  empire  of  progress  and  civilization,  with  himself 
at  its  head.  This  plan  was  perfectly  feasible.  War  with  Spain 
seemed  inevitable.  The  bent  towards  southwestern  acquisition  in 
this  country  was  large.  The  Mexican  people  were  ripe  for  revolt, 
and  at  the  first  unfurling  of  his  standard  on  the  Mexican  frontier, 
Burr  might  safely  have  counted  on  enrolling  a  band  of  gallant  ad 
venturers  drawn  from  every  quarter  of  the  land.  With  this  army 
he  proposed  to  invade  the  country,  and  after  a  short  and  brilliant 
campaign,  Mexico  would  have  been  his.  Then  what? 

Pen  can  scarcely  portray  the  unrivalled  future  which  would 
have  been  Mexico's,  had  Burr  been  "  let  alone "  to  realize  his 

*  The  writer,  in  what  has  been  said,  has  no  desire  to  belittle  the  talents  or  services  of 
Alexander  Hamilton,  but  since,  in  the  effort  to  make  him  a  demi-god,  it  was  found  neces 
sary  to  paint  Aaron  Burr  in  the  lurid  colors  of  the  pit,  both  justice  and  truth  demand  that 
the  above  facts  should  be  stated. 


104  FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

splendid  dreams  of  conquest,  A  man  of  rare  energy  and  of  great 
executive  force,  he  would  have  formed  there  a  strong  and  stable 
government,  superior  to  faction,  and  which  might  have  solved  the 
great  problem  of  how  to  maintain  at  once,  a  strong,  and  yet  popular 
government — a  problem  which  we  have  been  unable  to  solve. 

Liberal  in  sentiment,  he  would  have  made  education  universal ; 
the  arts  and  sciences  would  have  been  encouraged  as  never  before ; 
religion  he  would  have  left  untrammelled  and  uncontrolled  ;  the 
revenues  of  the  mines  would  have  been  spent  in  the  construction 
of  public  works  and  for  the  glory  of  the  State  ;  canals  and  rail 
roads,  piercing  the  mountains,  would  have  joined  sea  to  sea,  and 
swift  steamers  sailing  east  and  west,  have  poured  into  her  lap  the 
products  of  all  nations.  Her  unequalled  history,  too,  would  have 
been  written;  the  world's  scholars  penetrating  her  secret  cloisters, 
would  have  unearthed  the  wealth  of  manuscript  there  hidden,  and 
from  the  temples  of  Uxmal,  Palenque,  and  the  thousand  buried 
cities  of  plain  and  forest,  we  might  have  gleaned  the  history  of 
that  marvelous  race,  who,  from  the  ruins  of  Toltec  art,  constructed 
an  empire  of  civilization  which  was  vigorous  with  age  when  our 
oldest  political  systems  were  in  the  weakness  of  infancy. 

These  and  many  other  glowing  visions  were,  no  doubt,  present 
in  the  brain  of  this  remarkable  man  at  this  stage  of  his  career  ; 
how  far  legitimate  were  the  methods  by  which  he  hoped  to  realize 
them,  let  the  casuist  determine.  He  has  been  called  a  filibuster 
and  an  adventurer  ;  but  then  there  was  never  a  ranker  set  of  fili 
busters  than  those  brought  to  these  shores  by  the  Mayflower,  and 
them  we  revere,  and  rightly,  too,  as  most  perfect  models  of  cor 
rectness  ;  in  fact,  the  whole  history  of  the  race  is  little  more  than 
a  record  of  the  filibustering  of  the  strong  against  the  weak. 

But  to  return  to  our  subject.  His  plan  was  predicated  largely 
on  the  fact  of  a  war  with  Spain.  Jefferson's  prudence  averted 
that  war,  and  Burr  turned  his  energies  toward  advancing  a  second 
ary  scheme  which  he  had  formed,  should  the  first  prove  impracti 
cable.  This  was  the  establishment  of  a  colony  on  the  Washita 
River  near  Texas,  to  be  used  as  a  base  of  operations  in  future  at 
tempts  upon  Mexico.  General  Wilkinson,  then  Governor  of  the 
new  territory  of  Louisiana,  Daniel  Clark,  a  wealthy  New  Orleans 
merchant,  Andrew  Jackson,  Governor  Alston.  General  Adair  of 
Kentucky,  Colonel  Dupeister,  and  hundreds  of  other  prominent 
persons  were  cognizant  of  this  scheme,  and  interested  in  it.  As  a 
preliminary  step  50, 000  acres  of  land  on  the  Washita  River,  known 


COL.  AARON  BURR. 

as  the  "  Bastrop  Lands,"  were  bought  by  Col.  Burr's  agents,  and 
preparations  for  colonizing  it  were  urged  forward.  Provisions  were 
bought,  recruits  enlisted,  and  boats  wherewith  to  descend  the  Mis 
sissippi,  contracted  for.  The  rendezvous  was  at  Blennerhasset's 
Island, — an  historic  spot,  and  one  demanding  more  than  a  passing 
mention. 

No  locality  in  the  land  is  better  known,  and  not  alone  in  fo 
rensic  contests  have  its  velvet  lawns  and  quiet  glades,  its  gardens 
and  fountains,  and  shrubberies  "which  Shenstone  might  have  en 
vied,"  been  held  up  to  the  gaze  of  an  admiring  and  pitying  public. 
The  owner  of  this  "  earthly  paradise,"  too,  has  received  his  full 
share  of  adulation  ;  fifty  years  ago  no  subject  was  more  fascinating 
to  the  average  writer,  male  or  female,  than  Heman  Blennerhas- 
set  and  his  alleged  wrongs,  and  no  tragedy  of  that  day  was  thought 
complete  which  did  not  present  this  unfortunate  man  as  the  Ami 
able  Victim,  and  Aaron  Burr  as  the  Heavy  Villain  of  its  dramatis 
personce. 

In  point  of  fact,  the  story  of  Burr's  connection  with  Blenner- 
hasset  is  a  very  prosaic  one.  They  first  met  in  1805,  when  Burr 
was  on  his  western  tour.  He  was  journeying  down  the  Ohio  with 
a  friend,  in  a  row  boat,  and  passing  the  island,  landed  from  mo 
tives  of  curiosity,  having  heard  that  it  was  the  home  of  an  eccen 
tric  foreigner.  He  was  kindly  received,  pressed  to  stay  to  tea,  re 
mained,  spent  the  evening  with  his  entertainers,  and  resumed  his 
voyage  late  at  night.  The  two  did  not  meet  again  until  Col.  Burr 
came  west  on  his  scheme  for  colonizing  the  Washita  Lands. 

Such  is  a  plain  statement  of  the  facts  concerning  their  first 
meeting  ;  nor  did  Blennerhasset  need  any  persuasion  to  enter 
heartily  into  Burr's  plans  of  conquest.  An  idle,  shiftless,  roman 
tic  Irishman,  he  had  spent  a  moderate  fortune  in  improving  his 
island,  and  now  nearly  bankrupt,  embraced  eagerly  any  plan  that 
promised  to  repair  his  shattered  fortunes,  without  much  risk  of 
exertion  on  his  part.  His  "island,"  the  paradise  of  the  historical 
romancers,  was  a  narrow  strip  of  land  in  the  Ohio  River,  fourteen 
miles  below  Marietta,  three  or  four  miles  in  length  and  compris 
ing  about  270  acres  of  land. 

It  was  neither  picturesque  nor  romantic,  certainly  not  an  Eden. 
Here  it  was,  that  in  the  summer  of  1806,  preparations  were  busily 
made  for  colonizing  the  tract  on  the  Washita.  On  the  4th  of 
August,  these  were  so  far  advanced  that  Col.  Burr  with  his  ac 
complished  daughter  Theodosia,  left  the  island  for  the  Cumber- 


106  FAIRF1ELD  BRANCH. 

land  River,  where  another  detachment  was  rendezvoused,  leaving 
Blennerhasset  to  complete  the  preparations  on  his  island,  and 
then  join  his  chief  late  in  the  fall,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cumber 
land,  where  the  united  force  would  proceed  down  the  Mississippi 
on  its  enterprise.  But  before  these  plans  could  be  carried  out, 
Burr  was  surprised  to  learn,  from  the  President  himself,  that  his 
colonization  scheme  was  treasonable. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  1806,  Jefferson  received  from  Gen. 
Wilkinson  (Burr's  ancient  friend  and  ally,  and  then  commanding 
the  department  of  Louisiana,)  a  cipher  letter,  purporting  to  be  from 
Burr  to  him  (Wilkinson,)  proposing  that  he  should  use  the  army 
under  his  command  to  provoke  a  war  with  Spain,  and  also  hinting 
at  the  erection  of  a  great  Southern  empire.  This  letter,  grossly  ex 
aggerated  and  altered  as  it  was,  was  accompanied  by  such  repre 
sentations  from  Wilkinson  as  to  raise  in  the  mind  of  the  President 
the  direst  visions  of  treasons  and  stratagems ;  his  action  on  receipt 
of  it  was  that  of  a  man  bereft  of  sober  judgment,  for  nothing  could 
be  more  absurd  than  to  suppose  that  so  shrewd  and  politic  a  man 
as  Aaron  Burr,  would  entertain,  for  a  moment,  the  project  of  se 
ducing  from  its  allegiance  the  great  West,  then  the  stronghold  of 
republicanism  and  devotedly  attached  to  the  administration.  To 
the  President  and  his  Cabinet,  however,  it  was  evident  that  a  heavy 
conspiracy  was  already  on  foot  in  the  West ;  and  on  the  27th  of 
November,  the  former  issued  a  proclamation,  declaring  that  unlaw 
ful  enterprises  were  under  way  in  the  Western  States,  and  warning 
all  persons  to  withdraw  from  the  same,  under  penalty  of  incurring 
prosecution  "with  all  the  rigors  of  the  law." 

We  who  have  been  made  so  familiar  with  treason  that  its  as 
pect  is  no  longer  frightful,  can  hardly  realize  the  ominous  and 
hateful  sound  of  the  word  in  1800,  nor  the  excitement  and  fear 
which  convulsed  the  country  on  the  publication  of  the  President's 
ridiculous  proclamation.  Latent  patriotism  effervesced,  and  spent 
its  force,  from  lack  of  other  vent,  in  denunciation  of  the  supposed 
traitors.  The  President  sent  a  special  message  to  Congress  de 
nouncing  Burr  as  a  traitor,  and  asking  for  an  act  to  suspend  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus,  which  was  granted  by  the  Senate,  but 
rejected  by  the  House.  Military  companies  paraded  daily,  and 
crowded  their  offers  of  assistance  upon  the  General  Government ; 
forts  and  arsenals  were  put  in  warlike  trim,  the  navy  was  strength 
ened,  and  the  newspapers  and  the  administration  vied  with  each 
other  in  circulating  the  wildest  rumors  and  most  palpable  untruths; 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  107 

in  short,  popular  hatred  and  mistrust  was  brought  to  the  highest 
pitch,  and  there  held  suspended — a  sort  of  moral  avalanche  ready 
to  be  hurled  upon  the  luckless  wight  who  should  be  even  suspected 
of  the  odious  crime  of  treason.  Meanwhile  Col.  Burr,  a  peaceful 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  was  pursuing  his  peaceful  and  laud-  . 
able  schemes  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  The  President's  proclama 
tion  reached  Blennerhasset's  Island  early  in  December.  On  the 
4th,  Blennerhasset  learned  that  a  detachment  of  militia  from  Wood 
County,  Va. ,  would  make  a  descent  on  the  island  the  next  day,  and 
capture  himself,  the  boats,  stores,  and  all  the  property  of  the  ex 
pedition  ;  and  that  night,  secretly,  with  four  boats  and  thirty  men 
hastily  collected,  he  left  the  island,  and  fled  with  his  utmost  speed 
down  the  river.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland,  he  met  his 
chief,  and  the  combined  flotilla  proceeded  on  down  the  Mississippi. 

Had  a  cunning  limner  like  our  Nast  been  present,  he  might  have 
found  material  for  a  dozen  spirited  cartoons  in  this  first  insurrec 
tionary  expedition  against  the  government.  There  were  the  flat- 
boats,  thirteen  in  number,  borne  by  the  sluggish  current,  and 
guided  by  sixty  red-shirted  backwoodsmen.  Prominent  objects  on 
their  decks  were  the  chicken-coops  and  pig-barracks  with  their 
noisy  occupants.  Sacks  of  flour,  barrels  of  bacon,  and  kiln-driect 
corn,  hams,  and  other  munitions  of  war,  with  such  deadly  instru 
ments  as  ploughs,  spades,  hoes,  pots,  skillets  and  the  like,  formed  the 
bulk  of  the  cargo.  On  lines  stretched  across  the  deck  hung  seed- 
ears  and  slices  of  pumpkin  drying  in  the  sun ;  children  played  un- 
terrified  about  this  grim  array  ;  and  near  at  hand,  their  mothers 
sewed  and  gossipped  ;  the  linnet  and  canary  sang  in  their  gilded 
cages,  and  the  antics  of  a  pet  monkey  joined  to  the  strains  of  a 
superannuated  banjo,  relieved  the  tedium  of  the  voyage. 

In  this  manner,  day  after  day  the  grim  armament  floated  down 
the  river,  carrying  terror  and  dismay  wherever  it  penetrated.  At 
Bayou  Pierre,  thirty  miles  above  Natchez,  a  crisis  occurred.  The 
Natchez  militia,  275  strong,  hearing  of  Burr's  arrival,  marched  out 
to  meet  him.  Drawing  near  his  encampment,  they  were  reinforced 
by  a  battalion  of  cavalry,  and  halting,  sent  a  peremptory  summons 
to  Burr  to  surrender.  The  latter  talked  freely  with  the  messen 
gers,  declared  his  innocence  of  any  treasonable  designs,  and  pro 
tested  against  such  high-handed  and  arbitrary  proceedings.  But 
the  officers  persisted  in  their  demand,  and  at  last  Burr  agreed  to 
meet  Oov.  Mead  next  day,  and  surrender  his  entire  force,  with  the 
-stipulation,  however,  that  he  should  not  be  handed  over  for  trial 


108  F AIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

to  the  military  authorities.  He  was  then  conveyed  to  the  neigh 
boring  town  of  Washington,  a  grand  jury  was  hastily  impaneled, 
and  he  was  brought  before  them  for  trial — but  on  what  charges  ? 
The  grand  jury  struggled  with  this  question  for  days,  but  were 
unable  to  answer  it ;  and  a  higher  tribunal  a  few  weeks  later  fared 
no  better  ;  but  at  length,  after  numberless  motions  and  discussions 
in  which  Burr  completely  captivated  the  populace  with  his  displays 
of  learning  and  eloquence,  the  grand  jury  returned  that  "'on  a 
due  investigation  of  the  evidence  brought  before  them,  Aaron  Burr 
has  not  been  guilty  of  any  crime  or  misdemeanor  against  the  laws 
of  the  United  States."  They  also  went  further  and  presented  as 
a  grievance,  "the  late  military  expedition,  unnecessarily,  as  the? 
conceive,  fitted  out  against  the  person  and  property  of  Aaron 
Burr."  They  also  presented  as  a  grievance,  destructive  of  personal 
liberty,  the  late  military  arrests  made  without  warrant,  and  as 
they  conceive,  without  other  lawful  authority.  Thus  ended  the 
first  attempt  to  indict  Col.  Burr  for  the  crime  of  treason. 

He  was  a  free  man  again,  but  not  secure,  for  orders  had  already 
been  issued  by  the  President,  "  to  take  the  lody  of  Aaron  Burr 
alive  or  dead,  and  to  confiscate  his  property  "  Finding  himself  in 
the  power  of  a  military  despotism,  he  determined  to  escape,  and 
crossing  the  Mississippi,  made  the  best  of  his  way  southward,  to 
ward  the  port  of  Pensacola  where  lay  a  British  man-of-war,  on 
which  he  hoped  to  find  refuge. 

Some  days  after  these  events,  two  travellers  might  have  been 
seen  descending  a  hill  near  the  residence  of  Col.  Hinson,  in  the 
town  of  Wakefield,  Alabama  ;  these  persons  were  Col.  Burr  and 
his  guide.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill  they  were  intercepted  by  a  file 
of  dragoons  led  by  Capt.  Gaines,  commanding  Fort  Stoddard,  near 
by.  Capt.  Gaines  rode  forward.  "  I  presume,  sir,"  said  he,  "that 
I  have  the  honor  of  addressing  Col.  Burr."  "I  am  a  traveller  in 
the  country,"  replied  the  person  addressed,  "and  do  not  recognize 
your  right  to  ask  such  a  question."  "  I  arrest  you  at  the  instance 
of  the  Federal  Government,"  was  Gaines'  rejoinder.  "  By  what 
authority  do  you  arrest  travellers  on  the  highway,  bound  on  their 
own  private  business,"  asked  the  stranger.  "I  am  an  officer  of 
the  army  ;  I  hold  in  my  hands  the  proclamation  of  the  President 
and  Governor  directing  your  arrest,  "t  was  the  reply.  "  You  are  a 
young  man,  and  may  not  be  aware  of  the  responsibilities  which  re 
sult  from  arresting  travellers,"  said  the  person  addressed.  "  I  am 
aware  of  the  responsibility,  but  I  know  my  duty,"  said  Gaines. 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  109 

It  was  all  in  vain  that  Col.  Burr  protested  his  innocence,  de 
clared  that  all  this  arose  from  the  malevolence  of  his  enemies,  and 
pointed  out  the  liabilities  the  captain  would  incur  by  arresting 
him.  "  My  mind  is  made  up,"  said  Gaines,  and  the  former  Vice 
President  was  arrested  and  duly  lodged  within  the  walls  of  a  mili 
tary  fortress. 

For  two  weeks  Col.  Burr  remained  at  Fort  Stoddard  :  then  in 
charge  of  a  file  of  soldiers  under  command  of  one  Perkins,  he 
was  sent  overland  to  the  city  of  Richmond,  where  the  Government 
had  decided  his  trial  should  take  place.  One  incident  only  of  this 
difficult  and  perilous  journey  shall  be  narrated.  After  the  party 
had  passed  the  wilderness,  and  had  come  to  the  outposts  of  civil 
ization,  the  utmost  care  was  taken  to  prevent  the  prisoner  from 
communicating  his  situation  to  his  friends,  and  through  them  ap 
pealing  to  the  civil  authorities  for  relief.  Perkins  had  carefully 
avoided  the  large  towns  in  his  way,  and  while  passing  through 
Chester,  in  South  Carolina,  they  chanced  to  ride  near  a  small 
tavern,  in  front  of  which  quite  a  group  of  citizens  had  collected. 
This  was  Burr's  opportunity  and  he  embraced  it. 

Suddenly  throwing  himself  from  his  horse,  he  exclaimed  with 
a  loud  voice,  "I  am  Aaron  Burr,  under  military  arrest,  and  claim 
the  protection  of  the  civil  authorities."  In  a  moment  Perkins 
sprang  to  the  ground  and,  presenting  his  pistols  to  Burr's  head, 
sternly  ordered  him  to  remount.  "I  will  not,"  Burr  shouted  de 
fiantly,  whereupon  Perkins,  a  perfect  specimen  of  a  backwoods 
man,  seized  him  around  the  waist,  and  threw  him  forcibly  into  his 
saddle,  a  soldier  then  seized  his  bridle,  and  the  whole  cavalcade 
swept  off  into  the  forest  before  the  astonished  people  had  time  to 
comprehend  the  situation. 

It  is  said  that  Burr,  thus  a  second  time  kidnapped,  was  almost 
wild  with  excitement :  "The  indifference  of  the  people."  says  Mr.  f 
Parton,  "  the  indignity  he  had  suffered,  the  thought  of  his  inno-  : 
cence  of  any  violation  of  the  law,  the  triumph  his  enemies  were 
about  to  have  over  him,  all  rushed  into  his  mind,  and  for  the 
moment  unmanned  him.    For  the  first  and  only  time,  amid  all  his 
unexampled  misfortunes,  his  iron  fortitude  forsook  him,  and  he 
burst  into  tears." 

This,  however,  lasted  but  a  moment,  then  the  prisoner's  usual 
imperturbability  of  manner  returned,  and  the  journey  was  finished 
as  it  had  been  conducted,  without  a  murmur  or  word  of  complaint 
from  him.  The  party  arrived  in  Richmond  on  Thursday,  the  26th 


110  F AIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

of  March,  1807.  On  Monday  the  prisoner  was  brought  before  Chief 
Justice  Marshall  for  examination  previous  to  commitment,  and 
after  three  days  of  argument  was  committed  for  misdemeanor  only, 
the  Judge  leaving  the  charge  of  treason  to  be  considered  by  the 
Grand  Jury. 

He  was  arraigned  before  the  Grand  Jury  May  22,  1807.  Never 
before  or  since,  perhaps,  has  the  country  witnessed  a  trial  of  such 
magnitude,  conducted  by  such  an  array  of  talent,  and  the  progress 
of  which  was  followed  with  such  intense  interest  by  the  whole 
country.  All  the  magnates  of  Virginia,  Gen.  Jackson,  John  Ran 
dolph,  Senator  Giles,  distinguished  public  men,  fair  ladies  with 
out  number,  crowded  the  court-room.  The  sympathies  of  the 
people  of  Richmond,  and  of  the  ladies  especially,  were  with  the 
prisoner,  and  many  expressions  of  sympathy  and  regard  were  ten 
dered  him  during  his  forced  stay  in  the  city.  Two  judges  con 
ducted  the  trial,  John  Marshall,  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States, 
and  Cyrus  Griffin,  Judge  of  the  District  Court  of  Virginia.  Burr 
was  fortunate  in  his  chief  judge.  fi  The  soul  of  dignity  and 
honor,"  says  a  contemporary,,  "  prudent,  courageous,  alive  to  cen 
sure,  but  immovably  resolute  to  do  right,  John  Marshall  was  the 
Washington  of  the  bench,  an  honest  man  and  just  judge."  It  was 
to  his  firmness  and  judicial  impartiality  no  doubt  that  Burr  owed 
his  life,  or  at  least,  liberty.  The  lawyers  employed  were  worthy  of 
the  occasion.  Engaged  in  the  prosecution,  were  George  Hay,  Mon 
roe's  son-in-law,  William  Wirt  the  renowned  orator,  and  Alexander 
McRae,  Lieut.  Governor  of  Virginia. 

For  the  defence  appeared  Aaron  Burr,  the  Launcelot  of  this 
legal  tournament,  Edmund  Randolph.  Washington's  Attorney 
General  and  Secretary  of  State,  Wickham,  called  the  ablest  lawyer 
at  the  Richmond  bar,  Luther  Martin  of  Maryland,  Jefferson's 
"Federal  bull-dog,"  and  Benjamin  Botts  of  Virginia. 

At  the  opening  of  the  trial  it  was  found  that  an  impartial  jury 
could  not  be  obtained.  Of  the  whole  panel  summoned,  all  admit 
ted  that  they  had  formed  an  opinion  adverse  to  the  prisoner.  "I 
pray  the  court  to  notice,"  remarked  Burr,  while  the  jurors  were 
being  challenged,  "from  the  scene  before  us,  how  many  attempts 
have  been  made  to  prejudice  my  cause." 

At  length,  late  in  the  afternoon,  a  jury  was  obtained,  not  one 
of  whom  but  had  admitted  his  conviction  of  the  prisoner's  guilt. 
Of  the  trial,  or  rather  trials  that  followed,  it  is  impossible  for  us 
to  speak  in  detail.  A  report  of  it  was  published  in  two  large  octavo 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  Ill 

volumes,  and  may  be  found  in  any  well-stocked  law  library.  Mr. 
Davis  and  Mr.  Parton  also  give  able  summaries.  The  trial  was 
divided  into  two  parts,  one  before  the  grand  jury  on  a  motion  for 
a  commitment  of  the  prisoner  on  a  charge  of  treason,  the  other 
was  the  trial  for  treason  itself  after  a  true  bill  had  been  found. 
Between  the  two  was  an  interval  of  some  six  weeks. 

The  trial  was  opened  by  Col.  Burr,  who  addressed  the  court, 
as  to  the  admissibility  of  certain  evidence  which  he  supposed 
would  be  offered.  Hay  replied,  "  hoping  the  court  would  grant 
no  special  indulgence  to  Col.  Burr,  who  stood  on  the  same  foot 
ing  as  any  other  man  who  had  committed  a  crime." 

"  Would  to  God,"  was  the  retort  of  Burr,  "  that  I  did  stand  on 
the  same  footing  with  any  other  man.  This  is  the  first  time  I 
have  been  permitted  to  enjoy  the  rights  of  a  citizen.  How  have  I 
been  brought  hither  ?" 

In  the  speech  that  followed,  he  made  many  other  strong  points, 
and  eminently  Burrian ;  but  the  strongest,  and  that  which  most 
thoroughly  demoralized  the  prosecution,  was  the  stand  taken  in 
the  very  first  stages  of  the  trial,  that  before  any  evidence  as  to  the 
prisoner's  guilt  could  be  admitted,  the  act  of  treason  must  first 
be  proved,  just  as  it  would  be  manifestly  absurd  to  indict  a  man 
for  murder  until  the  fact  of  the  killing  was  first  established. 

In  the  course  of  the  argument  on  this  point,  Mr.  Botts  de 
fined  in  a  masterly  manner,  the  act  of  treason.  "  First,"  said 
he,  "'it  must  be  proved  that  there  was  an  actual  war  ;  a  war  of  acts 
and  not  of  intentions.  Secondly,  the  prisoner  must  be  proved 
to  have  committed  an  overt  act  in  that  war.  Thirdly,  the  overt 
act  must  be  proved  to  have  been  committed  in  the  district  where 
the  trial  takes  place.  Fourthly,  the  overt  act  must  be  proved  by 
two  witnesses,"  and  this  view  of  the  crime  of  treason  was  sustained 
by  the  court. 

The  prosecution  could  not  conceal  the  dismay  and  confusion 
which  this  decision  caused  in  their  ranks.  To  prove  the  prison 
er's  guilt,  they  had  relied  chiefly  on  ex  parte  evidence,  suspicious 
facts,  the  prisoner's  acts,  and  his  own  unguarded  words.  Now 
they  were  forced  to  go  back  of  all  this,  and  before  a  syllable  of 
evidence  in  regard  to  the  prisoner  or  his  acts  could  be  admitted, 
must  prove  the  fact  that  actual  war  had  been  levied  against  the 
United  States.  However,  gallantly  recovering  from  this  contre 
temps,  they  at  once  set  to  work  to  establish  the  overt  act.  Wilkin 
son  was  sent  for  from  New  Orleans,  Gen.  Eaton  brought  from 


112  FAIEF1ELD  BRANCH. 

New  Jersey,  and  the  Morgans  from  Kentucky.  Hardly  a  person 
that  had  written  or  spoken  to  Col.  Burr  during  the  past  two  years 
but  was  brought  to  the  witness  stand,  in  the  effort  to  prove  that 
war  had  actually  been  levied  against  the  United  States.  Even  post 
offices  were  broken  open  and  rifled  of  his  papers  ;  it  was  all  in  vain, 
however,  no  war  was  to  be  found,  or  as  Col.  Burr  pithily  expressed 
it  in  a  speech  to  the  court  on  the  third  day  of  the  trial  : 

"  Our  President  is  a  lawyer  and  a  great  one,  too.  He  certainly 
ought  to  know  what  it  is  that  constitutes  a  war.  Six  months  ago 
he  proclaimed  that  there  was  a  civil  war,  and  yet  for  six  months 
have  they  been  hunting  for  it,  and  still  cannot  find  one  spot  where 
it  existed.  There  was,  to  be  sure,  a  most  terrible  war  in  the  news 
papers,  but  no  where  else.  When  I  appeared  before  the  grand 
jury  in  Kentucky,  they  had  no  charge  to  bring  against  me.  When 
I  appeared  for  a  second  time  before  a  grand  jury  in  the  Mississippi 
territory,  there  was  nothing  to  appear  against  me,  and  the  Judge 
even  told  the  United  States  Attorney,  that  if  he  did  not  send  up 
the  bill  before  the  grand  jury,  he  himself  would  proceed  to  name 
as  many  of  the  witnesses  as  he  could,  and  bring  it  before  the 
court.  Still  there  was  no  proof  of  war.  At  length,  however,  the 
Spaniards  invaded  our  territory,  and  yet  there  was  no  war.  But, 
sir,  if  there  was  a  war,  certainly  no  man  can  pretend  to  say  that 
the  Government  is  able  to  find  it  out.  The  scene  to  which  they 
have  now  hunted  it,  is  only  three  hundred  miles  distant,  and  still 
there  is  no  evidence  to  prove  this  war." 

At  length,  after  thirty-three  days  of  argument,  the  grand  jury 
brought  in  an  indictment  against  Aaron  Burr  for  treason,  and 
also  an  indictment  for  misdemeanor.  Blennerhasset  was  also 
indicted  for  the  same  offences. 

The  trial  for  treason  began  on  the  3d  of  August ;  the  same 
judges  and  counsel  were  in  attendance.  Here  the  same  difficulty 
was  experienced  in  securing  an  impartial  jury.  Fourteen  days 
were  spent  in  the  effort.  Of  the  first  venire  of  48,  but  four  were 
found  unprejudiced,  of  a  second  venire  of  48  summoned,  all  ad 
mitted  that  they  had  formed  opinions  unfavorable  to  the  prisoner. 
The  defence  even  moved  to  quash  the  trial  on  the  ground  that  an 
impartial  jury  could  not  be  obtained.  The  matter  was  at  length 
compromised  by  allowing  the  defence  to  choose  eight  from  the 
venire  last  summoned,  which,  added  to  the  four  chosen  from  the 
first,  made  up  the  required  number. 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  113 

The  second  trial  was  in  many  respects  a  repetition  of  the  first. 
The  witnesses  chiefly  relied  on  to  prove  the  overt  act,  were  Gen. 
Eaton,  an  old  army  officer,  the  Morgans,  and  Gen.  Wilkinson. 

Eaton  and  the  Morgans  gave  an  exaggerated  account  of  Burr's 
wild  talk  of  severing  the  union — words  that  he  certainly  would 
never  have  uttered  had  he  really  entertained  such  designs.  Wil 
kinson  produced  the  famous  cipher  letter,  which  had  raised  the 
tempest,  but  which  proved  nothing,  except  that  the  two  men  had 
had  a  prior  agreement  as  to  certain  objects  to  be  attained.  It 
should  be  remarked  here  that  Wilkinson  by  his  own  confession 
was  a  perjurer  as  well  as  traitor.  At  the  trial  he  swore  that  the 
letter  produced  was  the  one  received  from  Burr  and  unaltered,  af 
terward  he  admitted  that  he  had  made  some  slight  alterations  in 
it.  Burr  declared  after  the  trial,  that  thirty  of  the  fifty  witnesses 
examined,  had  perjured  themselves.  On  the  29th  of  August,  the 
debate  was  concluded  by  Mr.  Randolph.  On  the  30th,  the  judge 
delivered  his  opinion.  On  the  31st,  the  jury  brought  in  their 
verdict — the  most  irregular  and  cowardly  ever  returned  by  an 
American  jury.  '•  We  of  the  jury,"  so  the  verdict  ran,  "say 
that  Aaron  Burr  is  not  proved  to  be  guilty  under  the  indict 
ment  ~by  any  evidence  submitted  to  us.  We  therefore  find  him  not 
guilty."  It  was  the  Scotch  f  erdict  of  not  proven,  and  was  de 
signed  to  fasten  still  more  firmly  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  their 
conviction  of  the  prisoner's  guilt. 

Scarcely  was  the  reading  of  the  verdict  concluded,  when  Col. 
Burr  was  on  his  feet,  and  vehemently  protested  against  such  a 
verdict,  and  it  was  only  after  an  animated  debate,  that  he  suc 
ceeded  in  having  it  entered  as  simply  "  not  guilty." 

There  yet  remained  the  trial  for  misdemeanor,  and  on  this 
charge  he  was  also  acquitted.  Col.  Burr  was  now  legally  free ; 
but  his  position  in  the  land  for  which  he  had  done  and  suffered  so 
much  had  become  unendurable.  The  Government  still  breathed 
out  threatenings  against  him  and  the  belief  of  his  guilt  was  firmly 
fixed  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that 
nothing  but  time  and  Almighty  power  can  remove  a  popular 
prejudice.  Burr  was  too  wise  to  attempt  it ;  he  did  better,  he  left 
it  behind  him.  Early  in  June  1808,  threatened  with  a  second 
arrest  by  the  Government,  he  sailed  in  disguise  under  the  name  of 
Edwards,  in  the  British  mail-packet  Clarissa  bound  from  New 
York  to  Liverpool.  The  Clarissa  left  port  on  the  9th  of  June,  and 
on  the  14th  of  July  she  arrived  at  Liverpool. 


FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

Of  Col.  Burr's  four  years'  wandering  in  the  old  world,  we  can 
not  speak  with  any  degree  of  particularity.  He  remained  in  Eng 
land  nearly  a  year,  or  until  April,  1809  ;  then,  induced  by  the  rep 
resentations  of  the  American  Minister,  Lord  Liverpool  addressed 
him  a  polite  note,  which  stated  that  the  presence  of  Col.  Burr  in 
Great  Britain  was  embarrassing  to  his  majesty's  government,  and 
that  it  was  the  wish  and  expectation  of  the  government  that  he- 
should  remove.  Burr,  who  had  been  dined  and  feted  by  most  of 
the  literary  and  society  magnates  of  London,  had  visited  the  tomb 
of  Shakespeare  and  travelled  about  the  kingdom  as  far  as  to  Edin 
burgh,  was  quite  ready  to  make  his  majesty's  mind  easy  by  leaving 
the  inhospitable  isle  ;  and  accordingly  on  the  24th  of  April,  1809, 
sailed  for  Gottenburg  in  Sweden,  not  deeming  it  safe  at  that  time 
to  visit  France.  He  remained  in  Sweden  five  months,  enjoying 
Swedish  hospitality  to  the  full,  and  received  as  a  distinguished 
guest  even  by  royalty  itself.  Late  in  October  he  set  out  with  two 
companions,  Americans,  for  Paris.  The  party  proceeded  by  easy 
stages  to  Elsinore,  from  Elsinore  to  Copenhagen,  and  from  thence 
to  Hamburg,  on  the  confines  of  French  territory.  Here  they 
waited  for  passports  to  the  French  capital. 

While  detained  at  Hamburg  he  made  a  short  excursion  into 
Germany,  visiting  Hanover,  Gottingen,  Weimar,  Frankfort,  and 
other  places.  At  Weimar  he  met  Goethe,  Wieland,  the  Baroness 
De  Stein,  and  other  eminent  persons.  Returning  to  Mayence, 
where  the  passports  were  to  be  sent,  he  waited  a  few  weeks  until 
they  arrived,  and  then  proceeded  without  further  incident  to  Paris. 
In  Paris  Col.  Burr  lived  fifteen  months;  the  last  ten  months  spent 
in  trying  to  get  away,  for  Jefferson  had  now  become  a  private  citi 
zen  and  the  thought  would  obtrude  itself  that  he  might  return  in 
safety  to  his  native  land. 

But  the  representations  of  the  American  Minister  had  made 
him  an  object  of  suspicion  to  the  French  Government,  and  he  was 
refused  permission  to  leave  the  country.  At  length,  however,  in 
July,  1811,  the  government  was  induced  to  remove  its  surveillance, 
and  wringing  a  reluctantly  given  passport  from  the  American 
"  charge  des  affaires,"  through  an  accidental  acquaintance  with 
some  of  that  gentleman's  doubtful  transactions,  he  betook  himself 
to  Amsterdam,  where  lay  the  "  Vigilant,"  Capt.  Combes,  and  about 
to  sail  for  America.  The  captain,  a  gallant,  generous  son  of  the 
sea,  gladly  gave  the  ex- Vice  President  passage,  and  on  the  1st  of 
October,  1811,  Aaron  Burr  bade  adieu  forever,  and  we  may  ima- 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  115 

gine  without  regret,  to  the  continent  of  Europe.  But  outside  the 
harbor  a  crushing  misfortune  awaited  him,  for  the  Vigilant  was  set 
upon  by  a  British  cruiser  and  carried  into  the  English  harbor  of 
Yarmouth,  and  held  as  a  prize,  subject  to  the  decision  of  the 
admiralty.  Burr  at  once  proceeded  to  London  and  there  remained 
six  months  awaiting  an  opportunity  to  return  to  America.  Few  ves 
sels  were  then  returning,  and  the  captains  of  those  that  were,  were 
easily  persuaded  by  the  American  consul  to  refuse  him  a  passage. 
At  length,  however,  he  found  a  Captain  Potter,  of  the  ship  Aurora, 
who  agreed  to  land  him  in  Boston  for  the  sum  of  thirty  pounds. 

Burr  again  paid  his  passage  money,  received  his  passports  from 
the  British  G-cvernment,  now  all  friendliness,  and  five  weeks  there 
after  was  safe  in  Boston  Harbor.  A  month  later,  in  May,  1812, 
the  second  war  with  Great  Britain  was  declared,  and  the  Atlantic 
became  a  dangerous  highway  for  American  vessels. 

With  the  return  of  Col.  Burr  to  his  native  country  ends  our 
brief  resume  of  his  public  career.  The  story  of  the  remaining 
twenty-five  years  of  his  life  is  a  pitiful  one, — a  mere  record  of 
slights  and  scorns — a  continued  kicking  of  a  man  who  was  down, 
by  the  immaculate  society  of  the  day. 

Immediately  on  his  return  he  opened  a  law-office  in  New  York, 
and  much  of  his  former  business  returned  to  him,  but  he  never 
regained  his  social  or  political  status  ;  and  he  never  sought  to  re 
gain  it.  Conscious  of  the  injustice  done  him,  and  retaining  his 
pride  of  character  to  the  last,  he  disdained  to  make  explanations, 
and  repaid  scorn  for  scorn,  and  contempt  with  indifference. 
But  to  the  few  friends  who  remained  faithful,  he  was  the  same 
brilliant,  genial,  fascinating  man  as  of  old,  and  these  he  was  wont 
to  entertain  for  hours,  when  oft'  duty,  with  vivid  descriptions  of 
the  men  and  things  of  a  former  generation,  interspersed  with  bril 
liant  ancedotes,  and  profound  observations  on  pending  issues  in 
politics  and  statesmanship.  Nothing,  it  is  said,  could  be  more  val 
uable  and  interesting  than  these  recollections,  and  it  is  to  the  in 
calculable  loss  of  American  literature  that  they  were  not  preserved 
in  print.  Burr  did  entertain  such  a  project  at  one  time,  and 
would  probably  have  carried  it  out,  but  for  the  loss  of  his  most 
valuable  papers  in  the  same  shipwreck  that  bereft  him  of  his 
daughter,  and  rendered  him  dead  to  ambition  or  any  worldly 
interest. 

Before  passing  to  narrate  the  closing  scenes  of  his  life,  a  few 
notes  as  to  the  appearance,  character,  and  habits  of  our  distin- 


116  FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

guished  subject  will  be  thought  necessary  and  interesting.  A 
writer  in  the  New  York  Leader  thus  describes  him  as  he  appeared 
in  the  later  years  of  life  : 

"  I  knew  him  personally,  from  my  boyhood,  and  saw  him  often 
in  the  quiet  scenes  of  domestic  life,  in  the  house  of  a  gentleman 
who  was  always  his  friend.  His  personal  appearance  was  peculiar. 
Under  the  medium  height,  his  figure  was  well  proportioned, 
sinewy  and  elastic,  appearing  in  every  movement  to  be  governed 
more  by  the  mental  than  mere  physical  attributes.  His  head  was  not 
large,  but  as  phrenologists  say,  well  proportioned.  His  forehead 
was  high,  protruding,  but  narrow  directly  over  the  eyes,  and  wid 
ening  immediately  back.  The  head  was  well,  even  classically, 
poised  upon  the  shoulders ;  his  feet  and  hands  were  peculiarly 
small  ;  the  nose  rather  large,  with  open,  expanding  nostrils ;  and 
the  ears  so  small  as  almost  to  be  a  deformity.  But  the  feature 
which  gave  character  and  tone  to  all,  and  which  made  his  presence 
felt,  was  the  eye.  Perfectly  round,  not  large,  deep  hazel  in  color, 
it  had  an  expression  which  no  one  who  had  seen  it  could  ever  for 
get.  No  man  could  stand  in  presence  of  Col.  Burr,  with  his  eyes 
fixed  on  him,  and  not  feel  that  they  pierced  his  innermost  thoughts. 
There  was  a  power  in  his  look — a  magnetism,  if  I  may  be  allowed 
the  expression, — which  few  persons  could  resist. 

•'The  expression  of  his  face  when  I  knew  him,  it  was  first  in 
1823,  bore  in  repose  a  sad  and  melancholy  air,  yet  the  features  were 
mobile,  and  when  addressing  ladies,  uttering  some  pleasantry  or 
witticism,  the  smile  around  his  mouth  was  literally  beautiful,  and 
his  eyes  would  lose  their  piercing  look,  and  become  tender  and 
gentle.  His  voice  was  not  powerful,  but  round,  full,  and  crisp,  and 
though  never  loud,  was  tender  or  impressive  as  the  case  required. 
His  elocution  in  conversation  was  perfect,  always  precisely  suited 
to  the  occasion  and  the  style  of  thought  to  which  he  was  giving 
expression.  His  language  was  terse,  almost  epigrammatical,  and 
he  rarely  indulged  in  illustration  or  metaphor  ;  his  words  were  al 
ways  the  most  apt  that  could  be  used,  and  he  had  command  of  a 
vocabulary  which  would  make  Koguet  of  the  Tootmnis  envious.  His 
manners  were  polished,  his  motions  graceful  and  easy,  yet  he  never 
for  a  moment  lost  his  noble  and  dignified  bearing.  In  mere  phys 
ical  beauty,  in  elegance  of  face  or  figure,  in  brilliancy  of  the  eye, 
I  have  seen  many  men  superior  to  Col.  Burr,  but  in  a  bearing  and 
presence  which  you  felt  to  be  something  beyond  other  men,  with 
character  in  every  motion  and  expression,  in  a  life  of  over  forty 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  117 

years,  and  after  seeing  all  the  great  men  of  the  country  during  that 
period,  I  have  never  seen  his  peer.  He  wore  his  hair — which  till 
quite  late  in  life,  was  long  and  thick,  excepting  on  the  front  of  the 
head. — massed  up  on  the  top  held  by  a  small  shell  comb,  the  whole 
head  profusely  powdered.  .  .  His  usual  dress  was  a  single  blue- 
breasted  coat,  with  standing  collar,  a  buff  vest,  and  dark  pants ; 
in  winter  he  wore  a  fur  cap  and  buckskin  mittens." 

In  regard  to  the  character  of  Col.  Burr,  the  verdict  of  the  hon 
est  and  intelligent  student  of  his  career  will  be  much  more  favor 
able  than  is  the  popular  judgment.  Of  him  it  may  be  said  more 
truly  than  of  any  other,  that  circumstances  made  him  bad,  where 
in  he  was  bad  and  that  party  rancor  and  sectarian  bigotry  painted 
the  portrait  which  has  come  down  to  posterity ;  in  proof  of  the 
truth  of  these  assertions  I  will  present  a  paper  which  was  read  by 
Judge  John  Greenwood,  of  Brooklyn,  before  the  Long  Island  His 
torical  Society,  begging  the  reader  to  observe  that  the  author's  in 
timate  acquaintance  with  Col.  Burr,  his  thorough  integrity,  and 
judicial  training,  render  his  judgment  unassailable,  whereas  the 
idle  and  vicious  tales  from  which  the  adverse  judgment  has  been 
formed,  are  without  parentage  and  cannot  be  substantiated  by  any 
proof  that  would  be  received  in  a  court  of  law.  The  italics  in  the 
paper  are  our  own.  They  mark  the  passages  which  treat — very 
delicately  and  yet  very  satisfactorily — of  Col.  Burr's  relations  with 
women,  and  make  farther  remark  on  the  subject  unnecessary,  ex 
cept  to  say  that  all  with  whom  the  writer  has  conversed,  and  who 
were  from  their  position  best  calculated  to  judge,  take  substan 
tially  the  same  view  of  the  case  as  that  expressed  by  Judge  Green 
wood.  The  paper  is  given  nearly  entire  : 

"As  to  Col.  Burr  I  enjoyed  peculiar  advantages  of  knowledge, 
having  been,  for  a  period  of  about  six  years,  namely,  from  about 
1814  to  1820,  a  clerk  and  student  in  his  office,  and  in  constant 
intercourse  with  him,  and  this  at  a  period  of  my  life  when  the 
strongest  impressions  were  likely  to  be  made  upon  me.  The  dark 
side  of  Col.  Burr's  character  has  been  very  often  presented,  and  it 
is  unnecessary  that  I  should  make  another  exhibition  of  it.  It 
gives  me  pleasure  to  be  able  to  bring  into  the  light,  features  upon 
which  it  is  more  agreeable  to  dwell,  and  some  of  which,  indeed, 
may  be  contemplated  with  advantage.  Let  me  speak  first  of  his 
temperance  in  eating  and  drinking.  It  would  be  natural  to  sup 
pose  that  a  man  somewhat  unrestricted,  as  it  must  be  admitted  he 
was,  in  one  respect  which  may  be  regarded  as  in  some  degree  cor- 


118  FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

relative,  would  not  be  very  much  restrained  in  the  indulgences  of 
the  table.  But  the  fact  is  otherwise.  His  diet  was  very  light :  a 
cup  of  coffee  and  a  roll,  with  but  seldom  the  addition  of  an  egg, 
and  never  of  meat  or  fish,  constituted  his  breakfast.  His  dinner, 
in  a  majority  of  cases,  consisted  of  roasted  potatoes,  seasoned  with 
a  little  salt  and  butter,  or  perhaps  of  some  thickened  milk  (called 
sometimes  ( bonny  clabber ')  sweetened  with  sugar.  A  cup  of  black 
tea  with  a  slice  of  bread  and  butter,  was  the  last  meal ;  and  these 
constituted  as  a  general  thing,  his  whole  sustenance  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  The  exception  was  when  some  friend  was  invited  by 
him  to  dinner.  He  was  very  fond,  when  seated  at  table,  of  having 
his  favorite  cat  near  him,  and  it  was  a  pleasant  thing  to  see  puss 
sit  on  the  arm  of  his  chair  and  keep  him  company.  As  to  spiritu 
ous  liquors,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  from  personal  knowledge, 
that  he  never  used  them.  His  usual  beverage  was  claret  and  water, 
sweetened  with  loaf  sugar.  His  wine  he  bought  by  the  cask,  and 
had  bottled  at  his  residence.  The  result  of  his  abstemious  course 
of  living  was,  that  he  enjoyed  uniform  good  health,  which  was  sel 
dom,  if  ever,  interrupted. 

' 'His  industry  was  of  the  most  remarkable  character.  Indeed 
it  may  with  truth  be  said  that  he  never  was  idle.  He  was  always 
employed  in  some  way,  and  what  is  more,  required  every  one  under 
him  to  be  so.  Sometimes  in  coming  through  the  office,  and  ob 
serving  that  I  was  not  at  work,  as  I  might  not  have  been  for  the 
moment,  he  would  say,  '  Master  John,  can't  you  find  something  to 
do  ?'  although  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no  clerk  in  an  office  was  ever 
more  constantly  worked  than  I  was. 

"  He  would  rise  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning,  devote  himself 
to  the  business  of  the  day — for  he  had  a  large  general  practice — 
and  usually  retired  to  rest  not  sooner  than  twelve,  or  half-past 
twelve  at  night.  In  this  way  he  would  accomplish  a  vast  amount 
of  work.  His  perseverance  and  indefatigability,  too,  were  strik 
ingly  characteristic.  No  plan  or  purpose  once  formed  was  aban 
doned,  and  no  amount  of  labor  could  discourage  him  or  cause 
him  to  desist.  To  begin  a  work  was,  with  him,  to  finish  it.  How 
widely,  in  this  respect,  he  differed  from  some  professional  men  of 
his  own  and  the  present  day,  I  need  hardly  say.  I  could  recur  to 
some,  greatly  his  juniors  in  years,  who  were  and  are  his  very  op- 
posites  in  this  respect.  He  wa$  for  having  a  thing  done,  too,  as 
soon  as  it  could  be,  and  not,  as  some  have  supposed,  for  seeing 
how  long  it  could  be  put  off  before  it  was  begun. 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  119 

"  But  I  must  say  a  word  of  his  manner  in  court.  He  seemed  in 
the  street  and  everywhere  in  public,  to  be  strongly  conscious  that 
he  was  a  mark  of  observation,  not  indeed  in  the  sense  in  which 
Hamlet  is  spoken  of,  as  'the  observed  of  all  observers,'  but  as  an 
object,  to  some  of  curiosity,  to  others  of  hostile  or  suspicious  re 
gard.  Carrying  this  feeling  into  the  court-room  his  manner  was 
somewhat  reserved,  though  never  submissive,  and  he  used  no  un 
necessary  words.  He  would  present  at  once  the  main  points  of  his 
case,  and  as  his  preparation  was  thorough,  would  usually  be  suc 
cessful.  But  he  was  not  eloquent.  If  he  thought  his  dignity 
assailed  in  any  manner,  even  inferentially,  his  rebuke  was  wither 
ing  in  the  cutting  sarcasm  of  its  few  words,  and  the  lightning 
glance  of  his  terrible  eyes,  which  few  could  withstand.  I  may 
say  in  this  connection,  that  his  self-possession,  under  the  most 
trying  circumstances,  was  wonderful,  and  that  he  probably  never 
knew  what  it  was  to  fear  a  human  being. 

"  If  there  was  anything  which  Burr's  proud  spirit  supremely 
despised,  it  was  a  mean,  prying  curiosity.  He  early  inculcated  on 
me  the  lesson,  never  to  read  even  an  opened  letter  addressed  to 
another,  which  might  be  lying  in  my  way,  and  never  to  look  over 
another  who  was  writing  a  letter.  It  was  one  of  my  duties  to 
copy  his  letters,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  withering  and  indig 
nant  look  which,  on  one  occasion,  he  gave  to  a  person  in  the 
office  who  endeavored  to  see  what  I  was  copying.  Neither  would 
he  tolerate  any  impertinent  gazing  or  staring  at  him,  as  if  to  spy 
out  his  secret  thoughts  and  reflections. 

' l  You  will  be  glad  to  hear  me  say  something  of  his  very  fascina 
ting  powers  in  conversation.  It  may  seem  strange,  if  not  incredi 
ble,  that  a  man  who  had  passed  through  such  vicissitudes  as  he 
had,  and  who  must  have  had  such  a  crowd  of  early  and  pressing 
memories  on  his  mind,  should  be  able  to  preserve  a  uniform 
serenity  and  even  cheerfulness,  but  such  is  the  fact. 

"  His  manners  were  easy  and  his  carriage  graceful,  and  he  had 
a  winning  smile  in  moments  of  pleasant  intercourse,  that  seemed 
almost  to  charm  you.  He  would  laugh,  too,  sometimes,  as  if  his 
heart  was  bubbling  with  joy,  and  its  effect  was  irresistible.  No 
body  could  tell  a  story  or  an  anecdote  better  than  he  could,  and 
nobody  enjoyed  it  better  than  he  did  himself.  His  maxim  was 
suaviter  in  modo  fortiter  in  re.  Yet,  where  spirits  and  a  deter 
mined  manner  were  required,  probably  no  man  ever  showed  them 
more  effectively.  Although  comparatively  small  in  person,  and 


120  FA1RFIELD  BRANCH. 

light  in  frame,  I  have  seen  him  rebuke,  and  put  to  silence,  men 
of  position  in  society  greatly  his  superiors  in  physical  strength, 
who  were  wanting  in  respect  in  their  language  toward  him. 

"  Col.  Burr  was  a  social  man,  that  is,  he  liked  the  company  of  a 
friend  and  would  spend  a  half  hour  in  conversation  with  him  very 
agreeably.  Occasionally  one  with  whom  he  had  been  on  intimate 
terms,  and  who  had  shared  his  adventures,  like  Samuel  Swart- 
wout,  or  William  Hosack,  would  call  and  have  a  pleasant  time. 
Dr.  W.  J.  McNevin  was  also  intimate  with  him.  He  was  very 
fond  of  young  company.  Children  were  delighted  with  him.  He 
not  only  took  an  interest  in  their  sports,  but  conciliated  them,  and 
attached  them  to  him  by  presents.  The  latter,  I  may  observe,  was 
also  one  of  his  modes  of  pleasing  the  more  mature  of  the  gentler 
sex. 

"  He  was  very  fond  of  alluding  to  events  in  his  military  life. 
Indeed  I  think  he  chiefly  prided  himself  upon  his  military  char 
acter.  His  counsel  was  much  sought  by  foreigners  engaged  in 
revolutionary  enterprises,  who  happened  to  be  in  New  York  ;  and 
during  the  period  of  the  revolution  in  Caraccas,  Generals  Carrera 
and  Eibas,  who  took  part  in  it,  and  during  its  existence  visited 
New  York,  were  on  very  intimate  terms  with  him.  The  former 
was  a  gentleman  of  great  talent  but  of  modest  and  retired  bearing. 
"  There  are  some  who  suppose  that  Col.  Burr  had  no  virtues. 
This  is  a  mistake.  He  was  true  in  his  friendships,  and  would  go 
any  length  to  serve  a  friend,  and  he  had  also  the  strongest  affec 
tions. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  incidents  concerning  the  loss  of  his 
daughter  Theodosia,  then  wife  of  Gov.  Alston  of  South  Carolina. 
Soon  after  Col.  Burr's  return  from  Europe  to  New  York,  he  ar 
ranged  for  her  to  come  on  and  visit  him,  and  she  set  out,  as  is 
known,  from  Georgetown  in  a  small  schooner,  called  the  Patriot. 
Timothy  Green,  a  retired  lawyer  in  New  York,  a  most  worthy 
man,  and  an  old  friend  of  Col.  Burr,  went  on  by  land  to  accom 
pany  her.  The  fact  of  the  departure  of  the  vessel,  with  his  daugh 
ter  and  Mr.  Green  on  board,  was  communicated  by  letter  from 
Gov.  Alston  to  Col.  Burr,  and  he  looked  forward  with  anticipa 
tions  of  joy  to  the  meeting  which,  after  so  many  years  of  separa 
tion,  was  to  take  place  between  himself  and  his  dear  child.  A  full 
time  for  the  arrival  of  the  vessel  at  New  York  elapsed,  but  she 
did  not  come. 

"  As  day  after  day  passed  and  still  nothing  was  seen  or  heard  of 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  121 

the  vessel  or  of  his  daughter,  that  face  which  had  before  shown  no 
gloom  or  sadness,  began  to  exhibit  the  signs  of  deep  arid  deeper 
concern.  Every  means  was  resorted  to  to  obtain  information,  but 
no  tidings  were  ever  heard  of  the  vessel,  or  of  her  upon  whom  all 
the  aifection  of  his  nature  had  been  bestowed.  '  Hope  deferred,' 
did  indeed  in  this  case,  make  sick  and  nearly  crush  the  heart. 

"  His  symbol,  which  he  loved  occasionally  to  stamp  upon  the 
seal  of  a  letter,  was  a  rock  in  the  tempest-torn  ocean,  which  nei 
ther  wind  nor  wave  could  move.  But  his  firm  and  manly  nature, 
which  no  danger  or  reverse,  nor  any  of  the  previous  circumstances 
of  life  had  been  able  to  shake,  was  near  giving  way.  It  was  inter 
esting  though  painful,  to  witness  his  struggle  ;  but  he  did  rise  su 
perior  to  his  grief  and  the  light  once  more  shone  upon  his  counte 
nance.  But  it  was  ever  after  a  subdued  light. 

"  Something  will  be  expected  to  be  said  by  me,  with  regard  to 
his  duel  with  Gen.  Hamilton.  So  much  has  been  written  on  this 
subject  already,  that  I  can  add  nothing  to  the  history  of  the  trans 
action.  Every  one  will  form  an  opinion  for  himself  as  to  who  was 
to  blame  in  that  unfortunate  affair.  I  will  say,  however,  that  it  was  a 
matter  to  which  Col.  Burr,  from  delicacy,  never  referred.  He  was 
no  boaster,  and  no  calumniator,  and  certainly  he  would  have  no 
word  of  censure  for  his  dead  antagonist.  I  will  relate,  however,  anan- 
ecdote  told  me  by  him,  indicating  the  degree  of  hostility  felt  to 
wards  him  by  some  after  that  transaction,  and  at  the  same  time  his 
own  intrepidity,  although  to  the  latter  he  seemed  not  to  attach 
the  slightest  importance. 

"  He  was  travelling  in  the  interior  of  the  State,  and  had  reached 
a  country  tavern  where  he  was  to  stay  for  the  night.  He  was 
seated  by  a  table  in  his  room  engaged  in  writing,  when  the  land 
lord  came  up  and  announced  that  two  young  men  were  below  and 
wished  to  see  him,  and  added  that  their  manner  seemed  rather 
singular.  He  had  heard  that  two  very  enthusiastic  young  gentle 
men  were  on  his  track,  and  he  was  not  therefore  surprised  at  the 
announcement.  Taking  out  his  pistols,  and  laying  them  before 
him,  he  told  the  landlord  to  show  them  up.  They  came  up,  and 
as  one  was  about  to  advance  into  his  room  Burr  told  them  not  to 
approach  a  foot  nearer.  Then  addressing  him  he  said,  '  What  is 
your  business?'  The  foremost  said,  'Are  you  Col.  Burr?' 
'  Yes,'  said  the  Colonel.  <  Well,'  says  the  young  man,  '  we  have 
come  to  take  your  life,  and  mean  to  have  it  before  we  go  away. 
Upon  this,  Burr,  laying  his  hand  upon  one  of  his  pistols,  replied. 


122  FAIRF1ELD  BRANCH. 

6  You  are  brave  fellows,  are  you  not,  to  come  here  two  of  you 
against  one  man  ?  Now  if  either  of  you  has  any  courage,  come 
out  with  me,  and  choose  your  own  distance,  and  I'll  give  you  a 
chance  to  make  fame.  But  if  you  don't  accept  this  proposal,' 
bringing  the  severest  glance  of  his  terrible  eyes  to  bear  upon  them, 
'  I'll  take  the  life  of  the  first  one  of  you  that  raises  his  arm.' 
They  were  both  cowed,  and  walked  off  like  puppies. 

"  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  relate  another  incident,  illus 
trating  Col.  Burr's  remarkable  presence  of  mind,  which  occurred 
while  he  was  in  Paris.  He  had  received  a  remittance  of  a  consid 
erable  sum  of  money,  and  his  valet  formed  a  plan  to  rob  him  of  it 
by  coming  upon  him,  unawares,  with  a  loaded  pistol.  Burr  was 
engaged  in  reading  or  writing  in  his  room  at  a  late  hour  at  night, 
when  the  fellow  entered  with  pistol  in  hand.  Burr  recognized 
him  in  a  moment,  and  turning  suddenly  around,  said  to  him 
sternly,  '  How  dare  you  come  into  the  room  with  your  hat  on  ? ' 
The  valet  struck  with  sudden  awe  and  the  consciousness  of  hav 
ing  violated  that  decorum,  which  had  from  habit  virtually  be 
come  a  part  of  his  nature,  raised  his  arm  to  take  off  his  hat,  when 
Burr  rushed  upon  him,  tripped  him  down,  wrested  the  pistol  from 
him,  and  calling  for  aid,  had  him  secured  and  carried  off. 

"Col.  Burr,  as  is  well  known,  was  what  is  termed  a  good  shot 
with  a  pistol.  To  illustrate  his  skill  in  this  respect,  I  will  relate  a 
circumstance  told  me  by  an  old  colored  man  named  '  Harry,' 
who  was  in  the  habit,  while  I  was  with  Col.  Burr,  of  coming  to  his 
house,  to  clean  his  boots,  and  do  little  jobs.  '  Harry '  had  lived 
many  years  with  the  Colonel  while  the  latter's  residence  was  at 
Richmond  Hill  in  the  upper  part  of  New  York.  The  Colonel 
often  had  dinner  parties,  and  after  dinner  the  gentlemen  would  go 
out  upon  the  back  piazza,  to  enjoy  the  air,  and  would  amuse  them 
selves  by  firing  with  a  pistol  at  apples  which  Harry  would  throw 
up  for  them.  Said  Harry,  laughing  in  the  way  peculiar  to  an  old 
African,  '  De  Colonel  would  hit  em'  almos  ev'ry  time,  while  de 
oder  gentlement  couldn't  hit  'em  at  all.' 

"  The  charge  against  Col.  Burr  of  treason  has  formed  a  promi 
nent  part  of  his  history.  All  the  facts  developed  on  the  trial  have 
been  long  since  published,  and  it  will  not  of  course  be  expected 
that  I  should  refer  to  them.  I  will  say,  however,  that  this  was  a 
subject  upon  which  he  was  always  disposed,  whenever  proper,  to 
converse  with  those  who  were  intimate  with  him.  I  myself  have 
conversed  with  him  upon  it.  He  said  he  had  been  entirely  mis- 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  123 

represented  and  misunderstood  as  to  the  object  which  he  had  in 
view.  He  had  never,  he  stated,  any  design  hostile  to  the  United 
States  or  any  part  of  it.  His  object  was,  as  he  said,  to  make  him 
self  master  of  Mexico,  and  place  himself  at  the  head  of  it,  and 
if  they  had  let  him  alone  he  would  have  done  it.  He  seemed  to 
entertain  a  great  contempt  for  Gen.  Wilkinson,  who  was  in  com 
mand  at  the  South  at  the  time,  considering  him  a  very  weak  man. 

"  Colonel  Burr,  like  other  great  men,  had  some  remarkable  eccen 
tricities  of  character.  He  was  very  fond  of  all  sorts  of  inventions, 
and  always  trying  experiments.  He  puzzled  his  brain  for  a  long 
time  to  get  some  motive  power  which  would  avoid  the  necessity  of 
using  fire  or  steam,  of  which  Livingston  and  Fulton  then  held  the 
monopoly.  He  had  models  made,  and  I  also  got  my  ambition  ex 
cited  about  it. 

"  But  his  efforts,  and  my  own  philosophical  powers  and  chemical 
knowledge  fell  short,  after  a  hard  trial,  of  accomplishing  the  ob 
ject.  One  great  end  which  he  desired  to  attain  in  housekeeping 
was  to  save  fuel,  not  money  ;  and  I  have  known  him  to  go  to  an 
expense,  I  should  judge,  of  forty  or  fifty  dollars  in  contrivances 
to  save  five  dollars  in  the  value  of  wood  consumed. 

"  He  was  very  liberal  and  even  reckless  in  spending  money  for 
certain  purposes,  while  in  others,  such  as  bills  of  mechanics,  he 
was  very  particular  and  scrutinizing.  He  liked  to  have  a  bill 
looked  over  very  carefully,  and  reduced  to  as  low  an  amount  as 
the  case  would  admit  of,  but,  so  far  as  I  know,  never  practiced 
any  dishonesty  or  refused  to  pay  any  just  debt  which  he  had  in 
curred. 

"  I  have  forborne  thus  far  to  refer  to  a  matter  connected  with  the 
character  of  Col.  Burr,  and  identified  almost  with  his  name,  and 
although  not  within  the  plan  with  which  I  started  in  this  notice,  I 
ought  not  perhaps  to  omit  it.  I  allude  of  course  to  his  gallantries. 
This  is  a  topic  upon  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  speak  with 
any  particularity  without  transcending  that  limit  of  propriety 
within  which  all  public  discussions  should  be  confined.  I  shall 
therefore  speak  of  it  in  the  most  general  terms.  /  do  not  believe 
that  Col.  Burr  was  any  worse  in  this  respect,  than  many  men  of 
Ms  <*wn  and  of  the  present  day,  who  pass  for  better  men. 

"  The  difference  between  them  is, that  he  was  much  less  disguised 
and  that  he  did  not  pretend  to  be  what  he  was  not.  /  think  he 
was  quite  as  much  sought  after  ly  the  other  sex  as  he  was  a  seeker. 
There  seemed  indeed  to  be  a  charm  and  fascination  about  him  which 


124  FAIRF1ELD  BRANCH. 

continued  to  a  late  period  of  his  life,  and  which  was  too  powerful 
for  the  frail,  and  sometimes  even  for  the  strong,  to  resist.  I  know 
that  he  has  been  charged  with  much  wrong  in  this  respect,  and  it 
may  be  with  truth.  I  feel  no  disposition  to  justify  him  in  his 
course,  or  even  to  palliate  what  must  be  regarded  in  its  best  aspect 
as  a  vice.  But  I  have  heard  him  say,  and  if  it  be  true  it  is  cer 
tainly  much  in  his  favor,  that  he  never  deceived  or  made  a  false 
promise  to  a  woman  in  his  life.  This  is  much  more  than  many 
can  say,  who  have  a  much  better  name  than  he  has. 

"  His  married  life  with  Mrs.  Prevost  (who  had  died  before  I 
went  into  his  office)  was  of  the  most  affectionate  character,  and  his 
fidelity  never  questioned.  There  is  another  thing,  too,  which  I 
will  add  to  his  credit.  He  was  always  a  gentleman  in  his  language 
and  deportment.  Nothing  of  a  low,  ribald,  indecent  or  even  in 
delicate  character  ever  escaped  his  lips.  He  had  no  disposition  to 
corrupt  others.  One  other  thing  I  will  add  in  this  connection: 
Col.  Burr,  in  everything  relating  to  business,  and  indeed  in  all  his 
epistolary  correspondence  with  men,  had  a  special  regard  for  the 
maxim  that  '  things  written  remain,'  and  was  very  careful  as  to 
what  he  wrote.  But  with  regard  to  the  other  sex,  such  was  his 
confidence  in  them,  that  he  wrote  to  them  with  very  little  restraint. 
.  .  I  must  point  you  to  one  admirable  and  strong  characteris 
tic  in  him.  He  sought  with  young  men,  in  whom  he  felt  an  in 
terest,  to  graft  them  as  it  were,  with  his  own  indomitable  will,  en 
ergy  and  perseverance.  I  can  truly  say  that,  although  I  was  often 
overtasked  beyond  my  powers,  and  even  to  the  injury,  no  doubt, 
of  my  health,  so  that  his  course  seemed  to  me  to  be  over-exacting 
and  oppressive,  yet  that  he  constantly  incited  me  to  progress  in  all 
the  various  modes  and  departments  of  mental  culture,  even  in  mu 
sic,  the  influence  of  which  he  deemed  of  great  importance,  although 
he  had  but  little  taste  for,  and  no  knowledge  of  it  himself ;  and 
that  my  success  in  life,  as  far  as  I  have  succeeded,  has  been  owing 
to  the  habits  of  industry  and  perseverance  which  were  formed  un 
der  his  training. 

"  As  to  the  character  of  his  mind,  it  would  be  probably  pre 
sumptuous  in  me  to  attempt  to  analyze  it.  If  I  should  express  an 
opinion,  it  would  be  that  it  was  not  large,  comprehensive,  and 
philosophical,  but  rather  quick,  penetrating  and  discerning.  He 
was  a  shrewd  planner,  and  indefatigable  and  persevering  in  carry 
ing  out  his  plans,  although  he  did  not  always  succeed  in  accom 
plishing  them.  He  was  a  good  scholar,  acquainted  with  polite 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  125 

literature,  and  spoke  the  French  and  Spanish — the  former  fluently. 
I  think  his  heart  was  not  in  the  profession  of  the  law,  and  that  he 
followed  it  principally  for  its  gains.  He  was,  however,  a  good 
lawyer,  was  versed  in  the  common,  civil,  and  international  law ; 
acquainted  generally  with  the  reports  of  adjudicated  cases,  and,  in 
preparing  important  cases,  usually  traced  up  the  law  to  its  ancient 
sources.  But  political  and  military  life  seemed  to  interest  him 
more  than  anything  else,  although  he  never  neglected  his  business. 
He  prided  himself  probably  more  upon  his  military  qualities  than 
upon  any  other,  and  if  he  could  have  gratified  his  ambition  by 
becoming  Emperor  of  Mexico  he  would  no  doubt  have  been  in  his 
glory." 

Concerning  Burr's  habits  in  regard  to  money,  the  following 
pleasant  anecdote  is  related  by  Mr.  Parton  in  his  life  of  the 
Colonel.  "  An  anecdote,"  says  he,  "related  to  me  by  the  wife  of 
one  of  Burr's  partners,  will  serve  to  illustrate  his  infirmity  with 
regard  to  the  use  of  money.  He  may  have  been  seventy  years  old 
when  the  circumstances  took  place.  The  lady  chanced  to  be  sit 
ting  in  the  office  one  morning,  when  Burr  received  a  large  amount 
of  money  in  bills,  and.  as  his  habits  with  regard  to  money  had 
often  been  the  subject  of  remark  in  the  house,  she  watched  his  pro 
ceedings  with  curiosity.  She  saw  him  first  take  a  law-book  from 
an  upper  shelf,  put  a  fifty  dollar  note  between  its  leaves,  and  re 
place  the  book  on  the  shelf.  The  rest  of  the  money  he  deposited 
in  the  middle  of  his  table  as  usual.  He  had,  on  that  morning,  an 
extraordinary  concourse  of  begging  visitors,  of  whom  no  one 
seemed  to  go  empty  away,  and  by  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
the  well  was  exhausted.  An  hour  later,  Col.  Burr  looked  at  his 
watch,  sprang  from  his  chair,  arid  began  hastily  to  pack  his  port 
manteau  with  law  papers,  in  preparation  for  a  journey  to  Albany, 
where  he  had  business  in  the  courts.  When  he  was  ready,  he 
looked  into  his  receptacle  for  money  and  discovered  that  it  was 
empty.  An  examination  of  his  pockets  disclosed  only  a  few  coins. 
•  Bless  me! '  he  exclaimed,  { I  have  to  go  to  Albany  in  half  an  hour 
and  have  no  money.'  Could  madame  lend  him  ten  dollars  ? 
Madame  could  not.  Would  madame  oblige  him  by  stepping  over 
and  asking  her  good  mother  to  lend  him  the  amount  ?  Madame 
was  of  opinion  that  her  good  mother  would  not  lend  Col.  Burr  any 
more  money.  He  was  at  his  wit's  end;  at  length  she  said,  '  But, 
Colonel,  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  the  fifty  dollar  bill  in  that 


126  FAIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

book  yonder?'  '  0!  I  forgot/  he  said  ;  '  I  put  it  there  this  morn 
ing  on  purpose.  What  a  treasure  you  are  to  remind  me  of  it.' " 

The  following  reminiscence  from  a  New  York  newspaper  will 
be  found  interesting.  i '  Just  round  the  corner  (from  Broadway) 
in  Eeade  Street — we  believe  on  ground  now  occupied  by  Stewart's 
— was  the  office,  for  many  of  the  later  years  of  his  life,  tenanted 
by  Aaron  Burr.  We.  when  a  boy,  remember  seeing  him  there 
often.  It  was  a  dark,  smoky,  obscure  sort  of  a  double-room,  typi 
cal  of  his  fortunes.  Burr  had  entirely  lost  caste  for  thirty  years 
before  he  died,  and  whatever  may  be  said  of  his  character  and 
conduct,  we  think  nothing  can  excuse  the  craven  meanness  of  the 
many,  who,  having  fawned  around  him  in  the  days  of  his  eleva 
tion,  deserted  and  reviled  him  in  the  aftertime  of  misfortune. 
Burr  had  much  of  the  bad  man  in  him  (faith,  we'd  like  to  see 
the  human  mould  that  has  not),  but  he  was  dauntless,  intellectual, 
and  possessed  the  warm  temperament  of  an  artist.  Yes,  we  re 
member  well  that  dry,  bent,  brown-faced  little  old  man,  polite  as 
Chesterfield  himself,  that  used  to  sit  by  an  ancient  baize  table,  in 
the  half-light  of  the  dust-covered  room,  'there — not  often  with 
work  to  do — indeed  he  generally  seemed  meditating. 

"We  can  now  understand  it  all,  though  he  seemed  a  strange 
personage  then.  What  thoughts  must  have  burned  and  whirled 
through  that  old  man's  brain — he,  who  came  within  a  vote  or  two 
of  seating  himself  as  a  successor  of  Washington.  Even  to  our  boy 
ish  judgment  then,  he  was  invested  with  the  dignity  of  a  historic 
theme.  He  had  all  the  air  of  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  was 
respectful,  self-possessed  and  bland,  but  never  familiar.  He  had 
seen  a  hundred  men  morally  as  unscrupulous  as  himself,  more 
lucky,  for  some  reason  or  other,  than  himself.  He  was  down  ;  he 
was  old.  He  awaited  his  fate  with  Spartan  calmness — knowing 
that  not  a  tear  would  fall  when  he  should  be  put  under  the  sod." 

At  my  request,  Mr.  Parton  kindly  transmitted  to  me  the  Burr 
papers  which  had  collected  since  his  work  was  published,  with 
full  permission  to  use  them  as  I  thought  best.  Among  them  I  find 
this  interesting  extract,  from  a  religious  journal,  concerning  Col. 
Burr's  early  education: 

"  The  oldest  son  of  President  Edwards  congratulating  a  friend 
on  having  a  family  of  sons,  said  to  him  with  much  earnestness, 
*  Remember  there  is  but  one  mode  of  family  government.  I  have 
brought  up  and  educated  fourteen  boys,  two  of  whom  I  brought, 
or  rather  suffered  to  grow  up  without  the  rod.  One  of  those  was 


COL.  AARON  BURR.  127 

my  youngest  brother,*  and  the  other  Aaron  Burr,  my  sister's  only 
son,  both  of  whom  had  lost  their  parents  in  childhood,  and  from 
my  observation  and  experience,  I  tell  you,  sir,  a  maple-sugar  gov 
ernment  will  never  answer.  Beware  how  you  let  the  first  act  of 
disobedience  in  your  little  boys  go  unnoticed,  and  unless  evidence 
of  repentance  be  manifest,  unpunished.'  "  f 

No  doubt,  the  stern  puritan  was  but  an  indifferent  master  for 
so  headstrong  a  youth,  still  it  was  evident  that  Col.  Burr's  many 
serious  faults  were  not  all  the  result  of  a  defective  education. 
Some  of  them  were  perhaps  inherited.  Thoroughly  furnished  as 
he  was,  mentally  and  physically,  there  was  yet  something  lacking 
in  his  moral  make-up,  otherwise  he  would  have  been  perfect.  It 
would  be  curious  too,  if  we  should  be  able  to  find  the  cause  of 
this. 

The  genealogist  will  remember  that  the  Edwards  blood  was 
not  without  taint,  that  the  grandmother  of  Jonathan  Edwards  was 
insane,  and  that  several  of  her  family  were  victims  of  the  same 
distressing  malady.  Whether  this  had  any  effect  upon  the  tem 
perament  of  her  remote  descendant,  Col.  Burr,  we  neither  main 
tain  nor  deny.  The  fact  is  mentioned  as  affording  food  for 
thought  to  the  curious. 

Among  the  papers  above  referred  to  I  also  found  a  letter  from 
Col.  Burr  to  a  legal  friend  in  New  York,  which,  as  showing  the 
sprightliness  and  vivacity  of  his  spirit,  that  even  age  could  not 
tame,  I  feel  moved  to  produce  here.  It  is  dated  at  Albany,  March 
15th,  1814. 

"  I  pray  you  never  again  to  be  silent,  in  hopes,  etc.  That 
apology  has  been  worn  out  more  than  1000  years  ago ;  from  you 
something  original  is  expected.  Letters  which  require  and  de 
serve  to  be  answered  at  all,  should  be  answered  immediately. 
Your  pleadings,  though  not  very  technical,  are  in  substance  good 
as  to  the  point  charged,  but  not  altogether  satisfactory  as  to  the 
subsequent  period.  Keep  a  better  lookout.  Yes,  send  copies  of 
my  letters  to  Graves  and  Mad.  F.  by  the  Cartel  about  to  sail  for 
Gottenburg.  To  the  letter  of  Mad.  F.  add 

1  P.  S.  17eme  Mars,  1814, 

'Le  sauvage  est  actuellment  a  cent  lieues   dans   I'inte'rieure 

*  Pierrepont  Edwards. 

t  This  is  not  in  character  with  what  Col.  Burr  used  to  relate  as  to  his  uncle's  mode  of 
government,  for  we  have  Burr's  own  testimony,  that  on  one  occasion,  at  least,  his  ancle 
"  licked  him  like  a  sack." 


128  FA1RFIELD  BRANCH. 

sur  une  affaire  tres  intSressante  pour  lui  et  pour  A.  H.  0  ;  on  aura 
le  resultat  au  bout  d'un  mois.'* 

"  Still,  my  dear  John,  I  am  a  sceptic  about  your  health.  You 
have  not  been  pleased  to  name  your  Hippocrate.  I  can  at  this 
distance  give  no  instruction,  other  than  that  you  observe  a  very 
temperate  diet.  About  three  weeks  ago  I  enclosed  you  twenty 
dollars,  i.  e.,  ten  for  Nancy,  and  ten  for  contingencies,  the  receipt 
has  not  been  acknowledged.  I  no  longer  hear  anything  of  the 
employment  of  your  time.  It  is  feared  that  things  do  not  go 
well.f  A.  B." 

From  "Personal  Eecollections  of  Aaron  Burr,"  published  in  a 
late  issue  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial,  I  extract  the  following  :  "  I 
once  heard  Hon.  Edward  Everett  relate  an  incident  that  occurred 
in  Albany  in  his  presence,  that  forcibly  displa}7ed  his  power  over 
minds  the  most  strongly  biased  against  him.  It  was  immediately 
after  his  secret  and  sad  return  from  Europe.  A  case  of  great 
pecuniary  importance,  if  I  remember  right,  of  the  Van  Rensselaers 
against  the  city,  in  which  the  plaintiff's  had  apparently  made  no 
preparations  for  an  advocate,  only  employing  a  young  lawyer  to 
prepare  and  present  the  case.  Surprise  at  this  fact  became  indig 
nation,  when  it  was  whispered  about  that  Aaron  Burr  had  returned 
from  Europe  and  was  employed  in  the  case.  Such  was  the  indig 
nation  that  court  and  bar  conspired  to  put  him  down  with  coughs, 
hisses  and  jeers, — that  they  would  not  hear  him, — as  an  advocate 
lynch  him.  The  trial  proceeded,  and  at  the  proper  time  a  side 
door  opened,  and  a  little  figure  walked  silently  in,  and  addressed 
the  court.  Not  a  cough,  hiss,  stamp,  scratch  of  a  pen.  or  even 
breath,  or  apparently  a  wink,  disturbed  that  calm  musical  voice 
during  a  long  speech,  and  the  case  was  won." 

A  few  years  before  his  death  Col.  Burr  married  Madame  Jumel, 
a  wealthy  lady  of  New  York,  and  many  years  his  junior.  The 
marriage  resulted  unhappily,  and  after  a  few  months  was  annulled. 

In  December,  1833,  while  Col.  Burr  was  walking  in  Broadway 
with  a  friend,  he  was  stricken  with  a  paralysis,  which  confined 
him  for  some  weeks  to  his  room.  He  recovered  from  this  attack, 
however,  almost  wholly,  and  was  seen  about  the  streets  as  usual. 


*  Thia  "  postscript "  might  be  freely  translated,  "  The  savage  is  actually  away  a  hun 
dred  miles  in  the  interior,  on  an  affair  very  interesting  to  himself  and  to  A.  H.  C.  ;  one  may 
expect  to  hear  the  result  by  the  end  of  the  month.1' 

Perhaps  some  one  who  remembers  the  men  and  things  of  that  period,  can  tell  us  who  the 
"  savage  "  and  A.  H.  C.  were. 

t  For  other  letters  of  Col.  Burr,  eee  Appendix  C. 


COL.  AARON  BUBK. 

This  was  followed  in  a  few  months  by  a  second  stroke,  which  de 
prived  him  forever  of  all  use  of  his  lower  limbs ;  two  years  of  inac 
tion  then  followed,  during  which,  although  his  mind  was  as  active 
and  strong  as  ever,  his  physical  powers  were  gradually  failing. 
During  these  years  he  was  the  honored  guest  of  a  lady,  whose 
father  had  been  his  intimate  friend,  and  who  had  herself  known 
him  from  childhood.  This  lady  proved  to  be  a  true  Samaritan, 
one  of  those  rare  souls  who  embody  the  truths  of  Christianity  in 
their  lives.  Unmindful  of  the  construction  put  upon  her  acts  by 
society,  she  cared  for  the  old  man  with  tender  assiduity,  as  long  as 
life  lasted,  and  after  his  death  used  both  tongue  and  pen  in  defend 
ing  his  memory. 

In  the  spring  of  1836,  he  grew  rapidly  weaker,  and  it  became 
evident  to  all  that  he  had  not  many  months  to  live.  It  chanced 
that  the  house  occupied  by  his  kind  benefactress  was  to  be  pulled 
down  that  summer,  and  the  Colonel  was  removed  for  the  season  to 
Port  Richmond,  on  Staten  Island.  Here  he  died  on  "Wednesday, 
the  14th  of  September,  1836,  aged  nearly  eighty-one  years. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Vanpelt  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  fre 
quently  visited  him  during  his  last  days  and  administered  spirit 
ual  consolation  ;  and  Col.  Burr  always  received  his  visits  with 
courtesy  and  thankfulness.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  in-answer 
to  the  Doctor's  queries  as  to  his  view  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  he 
responded,  ' ( they  are  the  most  perfect  system  of  truth  the  world 
has  ever  seen."  At  his  last  visit  the  clergyman  inquired  as  to  his 
faith  in  God  and  his  hope  of  salvation  through  the  merits  of 
Christ,  to  which  he  responded  with  evident  emotion,  "  that  on 
that  subject  he  was  coy,"  meaning  as  the  Doctor  thought,  that  on 
a  subject  so  momentous,  he  felt  cautious  about  expressing  an 
opinion. 

A  small  party  of  friends  accompanied  the  body  to  Princeton, 
where,  in  the  college  chapel,  the  funeral  ceremonies  were  per 
formed.  The  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Carnahan, 
then  President  of  the  college.  It  was  charitable  in  tone,  and  was 
delivered  before  a  large  audience,  composed  of  the  townspeople 
and  the  college  students. 

His  remains  were  followed  to  the  grave  by  the  faculty  and  Cli- 
osophic  Society  of  the  college,  a  large  body  of  citizens  and  by  a  de 
tachment  of  the  Mercer  Guards  of  Princeton,  who  fired  over  his 
grave  the  customary  volleys. 

His  grave  is  near  those  of  his  honored  father  and  grandfather, 
9 


130  FA1RFIELD  BRANCH. 

and  is  marked  by  a  simple  and  unpretentious  monument  of  marble, 
which  bears  this  inscription  : 

AARON    BURR. 

Born  February  6th,  1756. 

Died  September  14th,  1836. 

A  Colonel  in  the  Army  of  the  Revolution. 

Vice  President  of  the  United  States  from  1801  to  1805. 


THEODOSIA  BUKR  ALSTON.  [256] 

BOBH  at  Albany,  1783,  lost  at  sea  in  January,  1813 — between 
the  two  dates  fill  in  such  joy,  brilliant  promise,  beauty,  accom 
plishments,  intense  sorrow,  and  tragic  fate,  as  never  woman 
knew  before,  and  one  has  the  history  of  this  remarkable  lady 
in  epitome. 

No  daughter  ever  received  a  heartier  welcome  to  the  home  and 
hearts  of  her  parents,  and  none  ever  awakened  greater  parental 
care  and  solicitude  than  did  she.  Her  father  was  so  constituted, 
that  while  he  would  have  been  proud  of,  and  honored  a  son,  a 
daughter  called  out  all  the  strength  and  affection  of  his  nature, 
and  he  devoted  himself  to  her  care  and  education  with  a  zeal  and 
assiduity  that  knew  no  cessation.  With  the  earliest  glimmering 
of  reason,  her  education  began.  She  was  taught  to  sleep  alone  in 
the  rooms  of  the  great  mansion  at  Eichmond  Hill,  to  be  prompt, 
diligent,  and  self-reliant,  polite  and  mannerly  to  all,  kind  and  con 
siderate  to  her  inferiors,  and  was  grounded  in  all  the  elements  of 
a  solid  and  ornamental  education.  At  the  age  of  ten,  "she  was 
precocious,  like  all  her  race,  and  was  accounted  a  prodigy  ;  and  she 
really  was  a  child  of  precocious  endowments."  She  is  also  spoken 
of  at  this  time  as  having  the  family  diminutiveness,  and  as  being 
a  plump,  pretty,  and  blooming  girl.  Her  father  had  the  utmost 
horror  of  her  growing  into  the  mere  fashionable  woman  of  society, 
and,  while  a  senator  at  Philadelphia,  thus  wrote  to  his  wife  on 
the  subject — "  Cursed  effects  of  fashionable  education,  of  which 
both  sexes  are  the  advocates,  and  yours  the  victims  ;  if  I  could 
foresee  that  Theo.  would  become  a  mere  fashionable  womnn  with 
all  the  attendant  frivolity,  and  vacuity  of  mind,  adorned  with 
whatever  grace  or  allurement,  I  would  earnestly  pray  God  to  take 
her  forthwith  hence."  There  was  not  much  danger  of  her  becom 
ing  so,  for  at  the  time  that  letter  was  written,  she  was  reading 
Horace  and  Terence  in  the  original,  mastering  the  Greek  grammar, 
studying  Gibbon,  speaking  French,  practicing  on  the  piano,  and 
taking  lessons  in  dancing  and  skating. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen,  she  became  the  mistress  of  her  father's 


132  FAIRF1ELD  BRANCH. 

mansion  at  Richmond  Hill,  and  entertained  his  numerous  guests, 
— senators,  judges,  grave  divines,  foreign  notabilities — with  the 
most  charming  grace  and  dignity.  At  that  early  age  she  was  hei 
father's  friend  and  counsellor.  She  wrote  letters  that  displayed 
a  masculine  force  and  directness.  She  translated  grave  political 
treatises  from  English  to  French,  was  familiar  with  the  philo 
sophical  and  economical  writers  of  her  day,  and  proficient  in  the 
Greek,  Latin,  and  G-erman  tongues,  and  was,  what  she  is  freely 
admitted  to  have  been,  the  most  charming  and  accomplished 
woman  of  her  day.  In  her  eighteenth  year  she  was  married  to 
Joseph  Alston  of  South  Carolina,  then  twenty-two  years  of  age,  a 
gentleman  of  large  wealth  and  assured  position,  and  a  lawyer  by 
profession,  though  he  had  never  entered  into  practice. 

It  was  the  gossip  of  the  day,  and  still  believed  by  some,  that 
she  was  forced  into  this  marriage  by  her  father,  from  political  and 
prudential  reasons  chiefly,  while  she  was  really  in  love  with  a 
young  writer  of  the  town,  one  Washington  Irving,  whose  articles 
in  the  newspapers  of  the  day  were  then  attracting  much  attention. 
But  the  story  lacks  confirmation.  Irving  and  the  lovely  Theo- 
dosia  were  acquaintances,  it  is  true,  and  frequently  met  in  society, 
but  there  is  no  proof  of  any  intimacy  between  them. 

Immediately  after  her  marriage,  the  bride  accompanied  her 
husband  to  South  Carolina,  and  the  happy  pair  took  up  their  resi 
dence  at  the  Oaks,  the  patrimonial  estate  of  Mr.  Alston,  and  one 
of  the  most  charming  of  South  Carolina  homes.  Soon  after  his 
marriage,  the  young  husband,  spurred  by  Col.  Burr's  vigorous 
mind,  entered  public  life,  and  in  a  few  years,  by  the  aid  of  his  tal 
ents  and  position,  was  elected  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  State.  To 
add  to  the  young  wife's  happiness,  a  beautiful  boy  was  born  in 
the  first  year  of  her  marriage,  which  was  christened  Aaron  Burr 
Alston,  around  whom  the  liveliest  hopes  of  the  parents  and  of 
the  far-off  grandfather  as  well,  clustered.  This  event  we  may 
suppose  completed  the  sum  of  her  happiness  ;  indeed  her  life,  for 
the  first  five  years  of  her  marriage,  was  all  brightness  and  sun 
shine.  An  honored  wife  and  proud  mother,  beautiful,  accom 
plished,  and  fascinating,  a  Vice  President's  daughter,  and  a  Gov 
ernor's  wife,  leading  the  society  of  two  States,  petted  and  adored  by 
all — who  could  at  this  time  have  foreseen  her  coming  misfortunes 
and  tragic  fate. 

In  the  summer  of  1806,  she  spent  some  weeks  with  her  father 
at  Blennerhasset's  Island,  and  on  the  Cumberland.  In  the  fall 


THEOD08IA  BURR  ALSTON.  133 

they  parted  ;  he  to  plant  his  colony  on  the  Washita,  and  if  events 
favored,  to  seat  himself  on  the  throne  of  the  Montezumas ;  she  to 
return  to  South  Carolina,  and  wait.  The  winter  passed.  In  May 
she  was  horrified  to  learn  that  her  father  was  in  jail  at  Richmond, 
and  about  to  be  tried  for  his  life  on  a  charge  of  treason,  but  let 
ters  from  her  father  which  swiftly  followed  the  news,  allayed  in 
some  measure,  her  apprehensions.  They  assured  her  of  his  inno 
cence,  that  his  arrest  was  the  work  of  his  political  enemies,  and 
that  they  would  be  foiled,  and  himself  completely  exonerated  from 
all  charges. 

But  the  devoted  daughter  felt  that  she  must  be  with  her  father 
in  this  hour  of  adversity,  and  at  once  set  out  for  Richmond ;  she 
arrived  a  few  days  before  the  trial  began,  and  remained  until  it 
was  concluded  by  the  acquittal  of  her  father,  spending  most  of 
the  time  in  the  prison  with  him,  and  proudly  sharing  the  odium 
that  was  gathering  about  his  name. 

What  she  thought,  and  how  she  felt  in  regard  to  her  father's 
alleged  crime,  and  the  labors  of  his  enemies,  is  very  frankly  stated 
in  the  following  letter  written  to  a  friend  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
trial  : 

"I  have  this  moment  received  a  message  from  court,  announc 
ing  to  me  that  the  jury  has  brought  in  a  verdict  of  acquittal,  and 
I  hasten  to  inform  you  of  it,  my  dear,  to  allay  the  anxiety  which, 
with  even  more  than  your  usual  sweetness,  you  have  expressed  in 
your  letter  of  the  22d  of  July.  It  afflicts  me,  indeed,  to  think  that 
you  should  have  suffered  so  much  from  sympathy  with  the  im 
agined  state  of  my  feelings ;  for  the  knowledge  of  my  father's  in 
nocence,  my  ineffable  contempt  for  his  enemies,  and  the  elevation 
of  his  mind,  have  kept  me  above  any  sensations  bordering  on  de 
pression.  Indeed,  my  father,  so  far  from  accepting  of  sympathy, 
has  continually  animated  all  around  him ;  it  was  common  to  see 
his  desponding  friends  filled  with  alarm  at  some  new  occurrence, 
terrified  with  some  new  appearance  of  danger,  fly  to  him  in  search 
of  encouragement  and  support,  and  laughed  out  of  their  fears  by 
the  subject  of  them.  This  I  have  witnessed  every  day,  and  it 
almost  persuaded  me  that  he  possessed  the  secret  of  repelling  dan 
ger  as  well  as  apprehension.  Since  my  residence  here,  of  which 
some  days  and  a  night  were  passed  in  the  penitentiary,  our  little 
family  circle  has  been  a  scene  of  uninterrupted  gayety.  Thus  you 
see,  my  lovely  sister,  this  visit  has  been  a  real  party  of  pleasure. 
From  many  of  the  first  inhabitants,  I  have  received  the  most  un- 


134  F AIRFIELD  BRANCH. 

remitting  and  delicate  attentions,  sympathy  indeed,  of  any  I  ever 
experienced." 

Nor  did  her  devotion  falter  during  subsequent  years,  when  her 
father  was  an  exile,  and  in  his  own  country  everywhere  spoken 
against.  She  gladly  shared  his  reproach,  as  she  had  his  honor, 
and  for  those  who,  without  a  particle  of  evidence,  and  in  the  face 
of  his  triumphant  vindication  by  the  courts,  could  condemn  and 
ostracize  the  innocent,  she  expressed  only  the  most  unmitigated 
contempt.  Meantime  she  wrote  letters  of  womanly  tenderness  and 
cheer  to  the  exile,  and  eagerly  watched  the  political  horizon  for 
signs  of  an  abatement  of  the  popular  resentment.  She  also  ad 
dressed  letters  to  eminent  public  men,  pleading  her  father's  cause, 
and  asking  their  opinion  as  to  his  safety  should  he  venture  to  re 
turn  to  his  native  land.  Some  idea  of  the  style  and  force  of  these 
epistles  may  be  gathered  from  the  following,  addressed  to  Mrs. 
James  Madison,  wife  of  the  President,  on  this  subject,  and  with 
whom  she  had  been  quite  intimate  in  brighter  days  : 

ROCKY  RIVER  SPRINGS,  June  24th,  1809. 

MADAM  : — You  may  perhaps  be  surprised  at  receiving  a  letter 
from  one  with  whom  you  have  had  so  little  intercourse  for  the  last 
few  years.  But  your  surprise  will  cease  when  you  recollect  that 
my  father,  once  your  friend,  is  now  in  exile  ;  and  that  the  Presi 
dent  only  can  restore  him  to  me,  and  to  his  country.  Ever  since 
the  choice  of  the  people  was  first  declared  in  favor  of  Mr.  Madison, 
my  heart,  amid  the  universal  joy,  has  beat  with  the  hope  that  I 
too  should  soon  have  reason  to  rejoice.  Convinced  that  Mr.  Madi 
son  would  neither  feel,  nor  judge,  from  the  feelings  or  judgment 
of  others,  I  had  no  doubt  of  his  hastening  to  relieve  a  man.  whose 
character  he  had  been  enabled  to  appreciate  during  a  confidential 
intercourse  of  long  continuance,  and  whom  he  must  know  incapa 
ble  of  the  designs  attributed  to  him.  My  anxiety  on  this  subject 
has,  however,  become  too  painful  to  be  alleviated  by  anticipations 
which  no  events  have  yet  tended  to  justify,  and  in  this  state  of  in 
tolerable  suspense,  I  have  determined  to  address  myself  to  you, 
and  request  that  you  will,  in  my  name,  apply  to  the  President  for 
a  removal  of  the  prosecution  now  existing  against  Aaron  Burr.  I 
still  expect  it  from  him,  as  a  man  of  feeling  and  candor,  as  one 
acting  for  the  world  and  for  posterity. 

Statesmen,  I  am  aware,  deem  it  necessary  that  sentiments  of 


THEOD08IA  BURR  ALSTON.  135 

liberality,  and  even  justice,  should  yield  to  considerations  of  policy, 
but  what  policy  can  require  the  absence  of  my  father  at  present  ? 
Even  had  he  contemplated  the  project  for  which  he  stands  ar 
raigned,  evidently  to  pursue  it  any  further  would  now  be  impossible. 
There  is  not  left  one  pretext  of  alarm,  even  to  calumny.  For  be 
reft  of  fortune,  of  popular  favor,  and  almost  of  friends,  what  could 
he  accomplish  ;  and  whatever  may  be  the  apprehensions,  or  clamors 
of  the  ignorant  and  the  interested,  surely  the  timid,  illiberal  sys 
tem  which  would  sacrifice  a  man  to  a  remote  and  unreasonable 
possibility  that  he  might  infringe  some  law  founded  on  an  unjust, 
unwarrantable  suspicion  that  he  would  desire  it,  cannot  be  ap 
proved  by  Mr.  Madison,  and  must  be  unnecessary  to  a  President 
so  loved,  so  honored.  Why  then,  is  my  father  banished  from  a 
country  for  which  he  has  encountered  wounds,  and  dangers,  and 
fatigue,  for  years  ?  Why  is  he  driven  from  his  friends,  from  an 
only  child,  to  pass  an  unlimited  time  in  exile,  and  that,  too,  at 
an  age  when  others  are  reaping  the  harvest  of  past  toils,  or  ought 
at  least  to  be  providing  seriously  for  the  comfort  of  ensuing 
years  ?  I  do  not  seek  to  soften  you  by  this  recapitulation.  I  wish 
only  to  remind  you  of  all  the  injuries  which  are  inflicted  on  one 
of  the  first  characters  the  United  States  ever  produced.  Perhaps 
it  may  be  well  to  assure  you,  there  is  no  truth  in  a  report  lately 
circulated,  that  my  father  intends  returning  immediately. 

He  never  will  return  to  conceal  himself  in  a  country  on  which 
he  has  conferred  distinction.  To  whatever  fate  Mr.  Madison  may 
doom  this  application,  I  trust  it  will  be  treated  with  delicacy.  Of 
this  I  am  the  more  desirous,  as  Mr.  Alston  is  ignorant  of  the  step 
I  have  taken  in  writing  to  you,  which,  perhaps  nothing  could  ex 
cuse  but  the  warmth  of  filial  affection.  If  it  be  an  error,  attrib 
ute  it  to  the  indiscreet  zeal  of  a  daughter  whose  soul  sinks  at  the 
gloomy  prospect  of  a  long  and  indefinite  separation  from  a  father 
almost  adored,  and  who  can  leave  nothing  unattempted,  which  of 
fers  the  slightest  hope  of  procuring  him  redress.  What  indeed 
would  I  not  risk  once  more  to  see  him,  to  hang  upon  him,  to 
place  my  child  upon  his  knee,  and  again  spend  my  days  in  the 
happy  occupation  of  endeavoring  to  anticipate  his  wishes.  Let  me 
entreat,  my  dear  madam,  that  you  will  have  the  consideration 
and  goodness  to  answer  me  as  speedily  as  possible ;  my  heart  is 
sore  with  doubt  and  patient  waiting  for  something  definite.  No 
apologies  are  made  for  giving  you  this  trouble,  which  I  am  sure 
you  will  not  deem  it  irksome  to  take  for  a  daughter,  an  affec- 


136  FAIRFIELD  BEANCH. 

tionate  daughter  thus  situated.      Inclose  your  letter  for  me  to 
A.  J.  Frederic  Prevost,  Esq.,  near  New  Rochelle,  New  York. 

That  every  happiness  may  attend  you  is  the  sincere  wish  of 

THEO.  BUER  ALSTON. 

To  Mrs.  James  Madison,  Washington,  D.  C. 

It  was  from  assurances  received  in  answer  to  this  letter,  that 
Col.  Burr,  in  1810,  began  to  think  once  more  of  his  native  land. 
In  the  spring  of  1812  her  father  arrived  in  Boston,  but  hardly  had 
the  news  of  his  arrival  reached  her,  when  she  was  called  upon  to 
suffer  a  bereavement,  beside  which  those  that  had  preceded  it 
seemed  trifles  light  as  air.  Her  boy,  her  only  child,  a  handsome 
promising  lad  of  eleven  years,  the  "  little  Q-amp "  so  frequently 
mentioned  in  Burr's  letters,  sickened  and  died.  This  blow  shat 
tered  in  an  instant  the  hopes  of  years,  and  plunged  both  parents 
and  grandfather  in  the  deepest  depths  of  affliction. 

"But  a  few  miserable  days  past,"  wrote  the  poor  bereaved 
mother  to  her  father,  announcing  her  loss,  "  and  your  late  letters 
would  have  gladdened  my  soul,  and  even  now  I  rejoice  at  their 
contents,  as  much  as  it  is  possible  for  me  to  rejoice  at  anything  ; 
but  there  is  no  more  joy  for  me.  The  world  is  a  blank.  I  have 
lost  my  boy.  My  child  is  gone  forever.  He  expired  on  the  30th 
of  June.  My  head  is  not  sufficiently  collected  to  say  anything  fur 
ther.  May  heaven  by  other  things  make  you  some  amends  for  the 
noble  grandson  you  have  lost.  He  was  eleven  years  old."  The 
mother  never  recovered  from  the  effects  of  this  shock. 

For  years  her  health  had  been  delicate,  owing  in  some  meas 
ure,  no  doubt,  to  the  unfavorable  influence  of  the  climate,  and  as 
early  as  1805,  she  had  been  forced  to  admit  the  probability  of  an 
early  death,  and  at  that  time  prepared  a  letter  to  be  given  to  her 
husband  after  her  death,  and  which  was  found  among  her  effects 
after  her  decease  in  1812.  This  letter,  so  natural,  and  so  charac 
teristic,  conveys  a  better  idea  of  the  life  and  character  of  this  re 
markable  woman,  than  could  pages  of  studied  description  and 
eulogy.  It  was  intended  for  one  eye  alone,  but  as  it  has  been  before 
published,  and  as  it  exhibits  its  author  in  a  most  favorable  light, 
there  can  be  no  impropriety  in  reproducing  it  here. 

The  following  is  the  letter  : 

Aug.  6,  1805. 

"  Whether  it  is  the  effect  of  extreme  debility  and  disordered 
nerves,  or  whether  it  is  really  presentiment,  the  existence  of  which 


THEODOS1A  BURR  ALSTON.  137 

I  nave  often  been  told  of  and  always  doubted,  I  can  not  tell ;  but 
something  whispers  me  that  my  end  approaches.  In  vain  I  rea 
son  with  myself ;  in  vain  I  occupy  my  mind  and  seek  to  fix  my 
attention  on  other  subjects  ;  there  is  about  me  that  dreadful  heav 
iness  and  sinking  of  the  heart,  that  awful  foreboding  of  which  it 
is  impossible  to  divest  myself. 

(t  Perhaps  I  am  now  standing  on  the  brink  of  eternity,  and  ere 
I  plunge  in  the  fearful  abyss,  I  have  some  few  requests  to  make. 
I  wish  your  sisters  (one  of  them,  it  is  immaterial  which)  would 
select  from  my  clothes  certain  things  which,  they  will  easily  per 
ceive,  belong  to  my  mother.  These,  with  whatever  lace  they  find 
in  a  large  trunk  in  a  garret-room  of  the  Oaks  House,  added  to  a 
little  satin-wood  box,  (the  largest,  and  having  a  lock  and  key)  and 
a  black  satin  embroidered  box  with  a  pin-cushion  ;  all  these  things 
I  wish  they  would  put  together  in  one  trunk,  and  send  them  to 
Frederic  Prevost,  with  the  enclosed  letter." 

Then  follow  several  bequests,  after  which  the  letter  continues  : 

"  To  you,  my  beloved,  I  leave  my  child,  the  child  of  my  bosom, 
who  was  once  a  part  of  myself,  and  from  whom  I  shall  shortly  be 
separated  by  the  cold  grave.  You  love  him  now,  henceforth  love 
him  for  me  also.  And  oh,  my  husband,  attend  to  this  last  prayer 
of  a  doting  mother.  Never,  never,  listen  to  what  any  other  per 
son  tells  you  of  him.  Be  yourself  his  judge  on  all  occasions.  He 
has  faults  ;  see  them  and  correct  them  yourself.  Desist  not  an 
instant  from  your  endeavors  to  secure  his  confidence.  It  is  a 
work  which  requires  as  much  uniformity  of  conduct  as  warmth  of 
affection  toward  him. 

"I  know,  my  beloved,  that  you  can  perceive  what  is  right  on 
this  subject,  as  on  every  other.  But  recollect,  these  are  the  last 
words  I  can  ever  utter.  It  will  tranquillize  my  last  moments  to 
have  disburdened  myself  of  them.  I  fear  you  will  scarcely  be 
able  to  read  this  scrawl,  but  I  feel  hurried  and  agitated.  Death  is 
not  welcome  to  me  ;  I  confess  it  is  ever  dreaded.  You  have  made 
me  too  fond  of  life.  Adieu  then,  thou  kind,  thou  tender  husband. 
Adieu,  friend  of  my  heart.  May  heaven  prosper  you,  and  may  we 
meet  hereafter.  Adieu,  perhaps  we  may  never  see  each  other 
again  in  this  world.  You  are  away;  I  wished  to  hold  you  fast,  and 
prevent  you  from  going  this  morning. 

"  But  He  who  is  wisdom  itself  ordains  events  ;  we  must  submit 
to  them.  Least  of  all  should  I  murmur.  I  on  whom  so  many 
blessings  have  been  showered,  whose  days  have  been  numbered  by 


138  FAIRF1ELD  BRANCH. 

bounties,  who  have  had  such  a  husband,  such  a  child,  and  such  a 
father.  Oh,  pardon  me,  my  God,  if  I  regret  leaving  these.  I  re 
sign  myself.  Adieu  once  more  and  for  the  last  time,  my  beloved. 
Speak  of  me  often  to  our  son.  Let  him  love  the  memory  of  his 
mother,  and  let  him  know  how  he  was  loved  by  her. 

Your  wife,  your  fond  wife. 

THEO." 
I 

This  letter  was  written  in  the  summer  of  1805.  In  this  sum 
mer  of  1812,  her  malady  had  greatly  increased.  She  sank  into  a 
listless  apathetic  state,  pitiful  to  see  and  from  which  it  was  diffi 
cult  to  rouse  her.  Her  boy  was  dead,  henceforth  life  was  a  blank, 
and  existence  a  burden. 

In  the  fall,  her  father,  alarmed,  insisted  that  she  should  come 
North  ;  he  even  sent  an  old  friend  to  her  home  to  accompany  her 
on  the  journey.  It  was  manifestly  impossible  for  her  in  her  en 
feebled  state  to  make  the  journey  by  land,  and  the  party,  com 
prising  Theodosia,  her  maid,  her  physician  and  Mr.  Green,  pro 
ceeded  to  Charleston,  and  embarked  on  a  small  schooner  called  the 
Patriot.  The  vessel  sailed  on  the  30th  of  December,  1812.  and 
was  never  again  heard  of. 

It  was  the  commonly  received  opinion  that  she  foundered  off 
Hatteras.  in  a  heavy  storm  that  visited  the  coast  a  few  days  after 
she  left  port ;  but  forty  yea.rs  after,  a  paragraph  appeared  in  a 
Texan  newspaper  and  went  the  rounds  of  the  press,  giving  a  differ 
ent  version  of  her  fate. 

This  paragraph  purported  to  be  the  confession  of  a  sailor  who 
had  recently  died  in  Texas,  and  who  declared  on  his  death  bed 
that  he  was  one  of  the  crew  of  the  Patriot  in  December  1812,  and 
that  during  the  voyage  the  sailors  mutinied  and  murdered  all  the 
officers  and  passengers,  Mrs.  Alston  being  the  last  to  walk  the 
plank. 

To  this  statement  the  Pennsylvania  Enquirer  added  corrobora 
tive  evidence  as  follows : 

"  An  item  of  news  just  now  going  the  rounds  relates  that  a  sailor, 
who  died  in  Texas,  confessed  on  his  death  bed  that  he  was  one  of 
the  crew  of  mutineers  who,  some  forty  years  ago,  took  possession  of 
a  brig  on  its  passage  from  Charleston  to  New  York,  and  caused  all 
the  officers  and  passengers  to  walk  the  plank.  For  forty  years  the 
wretched  man  has  carried  about  the  dreadful  secret,  and  died  at 
last  in  an  agony  of  despair. 


THEODOSIA  BURR  ALSTON.  139 

"  What  gives  this  story  additional  interest  is  the  fact  that  the 
vessel  referred  to  is  the  one  in  which  Mrs.  Theodosia  Alston,  the 
beloved  daughter  of  Aaron  Burr,  took  passage  for  New  York,  for 
the  purpose  of  meeting  her  parent  in  the  darkest  days  of  his  exist 
ence,  and  which,  never  having  been  heard  of,  was  supposed  to 
have  been  foundered  at  sea. 

"  The  dying  sailor  prof  essed  to  remember  her  well,  said  she  was 
the  last  who  perished,  and  that  he  never  forgot  her  look  of  despair 
as  she  took  the  last  step  from  the  fatal  plank.  On  reading  this  ac 
count,  I  regarded  it  as  a  fiction  ;  but  on  conversing  with  an  officer 
of  the  navy  he  assures  me  of  the  probable  truth,  and  states  that  on 
one  of  his  passages  home  some  years  ago,  his  vessel  brought  two 
pirates  in  irons,  who  were  subsequently  executed  at  Norfolk  for 
recent  offences,  and  who,  before  their  execution,  confessed  that 
they  had  been  members  of  the  same  crew  and  participated  in  the 
murder  of  Mrs.  Alston  and  her  companions. 

"  Whatever  opinion  may  be  entertained  of  the  father, the  memory 
of  the  daughter  must  be  revered  as  one  of  the  loveliest  and  most 
excellent  of  American. women,  and  the  revelation  of  her  untimely 
fate  can  only  serve  to  invest  that  memory  with  a  more  tender  and 
melancholy  interest." 

And  this  is  all  that  can  be  certainly  known  in  regard  to  her 
death.  The  reader  will  draw  his  own  conclusions  ;  but  in  either 
case  what  a  tragic  fate  was  hers  ! 

To  her  father  this  was  the  "event  that  separated  him  from  the 
human  race."  To  her  husband  thus  doubly  bereaved,  it  proved 
a  blow  from  the  effects  of  which  he  never  fully  recovered.  He 
survived  his  wife  and  child  but  a  few  years,  dying  at  Charleston, 
Sept.  10th,  1816,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-eight  years. 


APPENDIX    0.  ±19 


APPENDIX     C. 

Letters  from  Col.  Aaron  Burr  to  his  sister  Mrs.  Reeve,  found  in 
the  garret  of  the  old  Reeve  mansion  at  Litchfield,  Ct. ,  and  never 
before  published  j  also  two  letters  from  Mrs.  Prevost,  afterward 
wife  of  Col.  Burr. 

LETTER   I. 

DBAK  SKTEK,  CAMBKZDGE,  August  26th. 

This  is  the  fourth  Letter  I  have  wrote  you — and  two  I  have 
sent  to  Mr.  Eeeve  since  I  have  been  here — and  yet  Mr.  Phillips 
tells  me  you  complain  grievously  that  I  never  write — I  hope  then 
you  will  allow  me  to  freeze  a  little,  for  I  have  not  reed  a  single 
Line  from  either  of  you  since  I  have  been  at  this  Place — I  am 
told  indeed  there  are  Letters  in  Town  for  me  brought  by  the 
Litchfield  Post,  but  no  mortal  knows  where  he  has  laid  them — 
pray  direct  him  to  leave  my  Letters  for  the  future  at  Pomeroy's 
opposite  the  College — there  I  lodge — 

You  sha'n't  have  one  word  of  Politicks  in  this  Letter  for 
several  Reasons — one  is  I  am  just  out  of  Bed  rouz'd  by  Mr. 
Phillips — and  have  not  yet  my  Eyes  open — much  less  my  Senses — 
and  furthermore — Mr.  Phil-  goes  off  in  ten  Minutes  to  Roxbury  and 
is  doubtful  whether  he  will  return  to  this  Place  again — if  he  does, 
I  shall  have  another  Letter  to  give  him  ;  if  not  this  must  suffice. 

Yesterday  I  reed  a  Letter  from  T.  Edwards,  very  urgent  for 
me  to  go  to  Stockbridge  and  from  thence  with  him  to  attend  an 
Indian  Congress  to  be  holden  at  Albany — but  I  think  I  shall  take 
no  notice  of  his  Invitation — his  Letter  was  dated  August  22d  all 
well — but  I  fear  Mr.  Ph's  Patience  is  exhausted — remember  me 
with  Abundance  of  Love  to  my  Brother. 
I  am  dear  Sister 

your  Affte  Brother  &c. 

A.  B. 

You  shall  receive  a  Letter  by  every  Post  if  you  will  direct  him 
to  me. 

LETTER    II. 

CAMP  BEFORE  QUEBEC,  2nd  Feb.  7  1  /76. 

I  have  just  time  my  dear  Sister  once  more  to  assure  you  that  I 
am  your  Brother,  tho'  in  Canada — I  have  been  anticipating  half  a 


4:20  APPENDIX    C. 

Dozen  Letters  from  you  by  the  next  Post — they  will  be  to  me 
like — like  what  shall  I  compare  them  to  ?  like  a  Rind  of  Pork  in 
the  Wilderness — I  had  thoughts  of  giving  you  a  little  sketch  of 
my  manner  of  Life— but  perhaps  you  will  have  it  from  Mr.  Ogden, 
and  at  any  Rate  I  see  no  very  good  end  to  be  answered  by  it — be 
it  enough  for  you,  that  I  am  dirty,  ragged,  moneyless  and  friend 
less  and  no  Prospect  of  bettering  myself  very  speedily — 

Litchfield  seems  to  me  like  some  ideal  Region  in  the  Moon, 
some  place  I  have  visited  in  Vision  and  tasted  a  thousand  Rap 
tures — do  write  of  the  old  Raschals  and  the  new,  who  are  up  and 
who  down — I  think  I  could  with  no  small  pleasure — but  I'll  say 
no  more  for  fear  you'll  think  I've  some  female  in  my  eye — apropos 
of  females — I  think  this  a  good  opening  to  finish  the  Affair  of 
Gallantry  I  began  in  my  last — I  began  as  I  informed  you  I  should 
— made  regular  Approaches — I  flash'd  out  so  inimitably  that  the 
Torrent  was  too  mighty  ;  it  bore  her  off — I  had  next  Day  the  Pleas 
ure  of  hearing  (second  handed)  that  I  was  an  exceeding  genteel 
young  Fellow — now  hear  the  Improvement — I  am  resolved  never 
again  to  expose  myself  to  be  entangled  in  a  similar  scrape,  or  in 
other  words  that  I  will  at  no  Time  or  on  any  Occasion  whatever 
utter  a  syllable  in  the  Presence  of  a  French  Lady  that  can  un 
derstand  me — for  I  am  confident  that  no  Art,  no  Hypocrisy  can 
surmount  my  natural  Bluntness — and  one  rash  Word  might 
forfeit  more  than  a  whole  Fortnight's  Penance  can  retrieve — but 
I'm  running  on  as  wildly  as  if  I  had  Ages  for  nothing  but  to 
write  in  &  had  I — I  could  not  employ  them  better  than  in  telling 
you  how  sincerely  I  am  your  Affecte.  Brother  &c.  AAEOK  BUEE. 

Remember  me  suitably  to  all  my  Acquaintance,  but  be  cau 
tious  to  whom  you  give  my  Love. 


LETTEE   III. 

PEEKSKILL,  8th  June,  1777. 
MY  DEAE  SISTEE  : 

I  am  at  length  within  a  single  Days  Journey  of  you,  a  single 
Day  surely  can't  separate  us  long — I  was  left  at  Princeton  unwell, 
but  have  joined  the  Army  again  in  perfect  Health.  Mr.  Bradley 
was  with  me  a  few  Days  past  and  acquainted  me  that  you  were 
much  recovered. 

Edward  Bujue,  the  faithful  Fellow  who  has  attended  me  for 
near  a  year  past,  will  wait  on  you  with  this  and  some  of  my  winter 


APPENDIX    C.  421 

cloathes.  If  I  have  with  you  any  Handkerchiefs,  Linnen,  Cotton 
or  Silk  Stockings,  pray  send  them  me  by  Ned's  Return,  which 
will  be  in  about  three  Weeks. 

I  am  starved  for  Letters,  not  a  single  snip  can  I  get  from  any 
Friend  in  any  Quarter — my  faithful  Correspondent,  my  best,  my, 
almost,  only  Friend,  is,  alas,  no  more — J.  Bellamy's  Death  gave 
me  Feelings,  which  few  "Deaths  can  ever  renew. 

But  why  this  to  a  Sister  who  feels  more  for  a  Brother  than 
herself — my  Pen  and  Heart  you  know  were  ever  nearly  allied.  I 
left  our  worthy  Aunt  at  Eliz'eth  Town  last  Monday — her  in 
creasing  Troubles  have  almost  worn  her  out.  She  still  enjoys  a 
tolerable  Share  of  Health — Mr.  Pollock  grows  weaker  in  Mind 
but  may  live  these  7  years. 

Our  Army  increases  fast,  are  in  good  health  and  Spirits.  The 
Prospect  of  public  Affairs  brightens  to  my  View,  but  we  may  yet 
expect  Clouds. — We  are  yet  in  Doubt  whether  Philada  is  the 
object  of  the  Enemy, — a  very  short  Time  will  probably  determine. 

I  want  much  to  see  you  and  some  Litchfield  Friends — I  know 
not  when  to  promise  myself  that  Happiness — but  I  think  this 
Month. 

With  much  Love  to  my  Brother 

I  am  Dear  Sister 

Affectionately  Yours, 

A  BURR. 

Desire  Mr.  Reave  to  let  me  know  how  much  Money  he  re 
ceived  for  me,  and  whether  he  has  disposed  of  it. 

My  Aunt  Pollock  presents  you  with  £  lb.  of  Bohea  Tea — An 
English  officer  made  a  Present  of  1  lb.  of  Green  Tea  when  I  was 
lately  with  a  Flagg — what  is  left  of  it  I  now  send  you — make 
much  of  it — 3  pr.  Waiscoats,  2  pr.  Breeches,  4  pr.  Stockings. 

LETTER  IV. 

DEAR  SALLY 

I  am  just  returned  from  Philada  and  To-morrow  pursue 
my  Route  Eastward — (not  yet  to  Litchfield)  that  happiness  must 
be  a  few  Days  more  suspended — not  on  military  Business — for  I 
have  no  intention  to  rejoin  the  Army  or  any  Branch  of  it — 

I  spent  the  last  evening  with  Doctor  Jones  of  N.  York,  eminent 
for  his  good  sense,  his  Politeness,  but  particularly  for  his  Skill  and 
Experience  as  a  Physician.  He  has  politely  offered  his  advice  and 


4:22  APPENDIX    C. 

endeavours  in  your  Behalf — If  you  had  the  opinion  which  I  have  of 
his  Abilities  you  would  not  fail  to  improve  it ;  he  will  be  at  Goshen 
(in  this  State)  these  two  Months.  It  was  our  Sister  P's  Represen 
tation  unknown  to  me  that  drew  his  attention  and  interested  him 
in  your  Welfare.  When  I  have  an  Interview  with  you,  I  can  urge 
many  Reasons,  (some  of  which  I  know  you  will  feel)  why  I  am 
the  more  anxious  you  should  not  delay  to  consult  Doctor  Jones — 
my  conclusions  are  the  Result  of  Reason,  not  Whim  or  Sanguine 
Fancy. 

I  am  on  my  way  to  Boston — the  Brother  of  our  Sister  P.  is 
there  a  Prisoner — how  happy  if  I  am  his  Deliverer  !  I  return  thro' 
Litchfield — for  several  Reasons  I  cannot  take  it  in  my  Way  there 
— I  expect  to  bring  our  Brother  with  me — then  to  take  you  to 
Goshen  or  remain  at  Litchfield  while  Mr.  Reeves  eschorts  you — 
or  attend  you  both — I  am  so  bent  on  the  experiment  that  nothing 
can  divert  me — nothing  I  will  not  encounter  or  do  to  effect  it — 
the  Ride  will  be  of  service  at  any  Rate. 

I  wrote  you  the  Beginning  of  this  Month  from  White  Plains. 
Old  Tetard  will  certainly  live  with  me  this  Summer — if  he  comes 
in  my  Absence  take  good  care  of  him  and  keep  him  alive  till 
I  come. 

I  shall  use  many  Arguments  to  induce  Mr.  Reeve  to  go  imme 
diately  to  Jersey — think  of  it  seriously — 

With  the  warmest  Affection  of  a  Brother  I  am  Dear  Sister 

Your          A.  B. 

Mrs.  REEVE. 
PBEKSKILL  25th  April  1780. 

LETTER  V. 

24th  JULY  ;  —80 

Honest  Hull  is  tired  of  this  Dutch  Wilderness  &  on  his  Jour 
ney  home  will  deliver  you  this — The  little  mare  and  Saddle  goes 
with  him — She  does  not  at  present  do  justice  to  Fredericks  at 
tendance  &  care  of  her,  he  has  been  really  a  faithful  nurse. 

This  is  my  third  letter  all  of  which  I  suppose  you  have  reed — 
&  and  from  a  consciousness  of  guilt,  I  fancy  the  Light  of  my  hand 
must  be  terrible  to  you,  as  it  renews  the  conviction  of  your  own 
negligence — I  am  not  yet  at  the  springs,  but  shall  be  this  week — 
I  was  deterred  by  accounts  of  Robbers,  Horse  thieves,  &c — at  pres- 
ent  I  have  a  Security  from  those  Apprehensions  by  a  good  honest 
boy  who  is  to  be  my  Companion  &  who  is  as  much  afraid  of 


APPENDIX    C.  423 

Rebels  as  I  am  of  Refugees — Thea  is  at  my  elbow  &  is  this  mo 
ment  pinching  my  Ear,  because  I  will  not  say  any  thing  about 
her  to  you — 

Not  one  word  from  you  directly  or  indirectly  since  I  left  you — 
The  Litchfield  air  gives  me  not  a  few  anxious  reflections — I  am 
still  distrustful  of  it — &  I  am  not  the  only  one  that  feels  inter 
ested  for  you — I  am  still  a  skeleton  &  excepting  less  flesh — am 
neither  better  or  worse  than  when  with  you — I  have  settled  my 
plans  with  Troup — he  is  now  at  Pattersons  &  I  shall  join  him 
there  when  my  health  will  allow — 

Gen.  Wayne  on  the  21st  Inst.  with  1800  foot,  a  Regt.of  Horse, 
and  some  Artillery,  attacked  a  Block  house  in  the  English  Neigh 
bour,  Defended  by  some  refugee  Negroes  &  tories — We  were  re 
pulsed  with  the  Loss  of  abt.  fifty  killed — If  my  trunk  has  come 
from  Middletown  I  wish  you  would  send  me  when  you  have  an 
oppty  the  four  Vols  of  Gil  Bias  which  you  will  find  in  the  trunk — 
If  you  can  send  them  either  to  this  place  or  Bartolfs  at  Rama- 
pough  by  a  safe  oppty  I  shall  get  them — 

My  love  to  Patty. 

T.  REEVE  Esqr. 

LETTER   VI. 

[no  date.] 

DEAR  BROTHER, 

I  have  written  you  many  letters  within  a  few  months,  princi 
pally  on  the  subjects  of  Beer  and  money — The  Beer  is  in  Statu  quo 
to  wit,  in  my  Cellar — and  will  be  forwarded  you  as  soon  as  pos 
sible — Thea  has  almost  broke  her  heart  about  it  Since  the  certainty 
of  peuce,  of  which  we  are  this  evening  informed — Money  becomes 
more  than  ever  necessary — I  must  go  as  soon  as  possible  to  N. 
York  &  must  for  that  purpose  have  cash — Pray  endeavor  to  nego- 
ciate  the  Treasurers  Note  which  I  took  in  Mothers  behalf  at  Hart 
ford  and  also  the  small  tax  Note — Perhaps  Stirlings  Master 
(whose  name  I  forget)  will  discharge  his  Note — If  not  you  must 
sell  it  at  the  best  price. 

Judge  Hobart  will  set  off  from  Sharon  for  Albany,  I  suppose 
on  the  14th  of  April — If^you  should  be  able  to  procure  me  any 
cash  by  that  time,  you  must  forward  it  by  him — if  you  are  obliged 
to  send  to  Sharon  on  purpose — If  you  can  on  any  terms  procure  a 
sum  of  money  on  loan  (beside  the  notes  &c  I  have  just  mentioned, 
I  beg  you  will  do  it — 150£  in  this  way  would  be  very  convenient — 
indeed  I  must  at  all  events  have  a  sum  of  money  from  you — 


424:  APPENDIX    G. 

Phil  behaves  so  ill  that  she  is  for  sale — you  know  her  qualities 
as  a  seamstress  &c — I  wish  you  would  inquire  for  a  purchaser — 
her  price  is  60£  your  money,  cash — I  shall  send  you  Castor  as  soon 
as  possible. — Children  are  all  well — talk  forever  of  little  Burr. 
Love  to  Sally. 

Yrs,  &c.  A.B. 

LETTER  VII. 

[no  date.] 

It  is  my  real  opinion  that  if  I  did  not  write  to  you  in  a  twelve 
month,  the  thought  of  writing  to  me  would  never  enter  your  head — 
but  I  hear  from  you  frequently  even  in  spight  of  yourself — I  am 
told  the  brat  begins  to  pick  up — I  wish  he  may  be  a  much  cleverei 
fellow  than  his  father. 

The  winter  has  I  think  been  favorable  to  Sally — pray  tell  me 
what  prospect  there  is  of  her  recovery — I  think  often  of  the  re 
move  to  Carolina,  though  I  should  lament  the  necessity — I  heard 
she  was  threatened  with  a  swelling  on  the  foot — how  is  this — my 
health  is  nearly  established,  and  will  be  quite  so  when  I  hear  of 
yours  &  hers — any  news  of  my  trunks  or  sleigh  yet,  or  of  Bradley's 
money — if  you  have  an  opportunity  any  time  this  spring,  write 
him  a  civil  letter  on  that  subject — 

Mrs.  D.  V.  has  begged  me  to  make  inquiry  after  her  affairs — If 
you  can  get  a  letter  into  the  post  office  it  will  meet  me — direct  it 
to  the  care  of  the  post  master  at  Morristown. 

1st  March.  Ys.  A.  B. 


LETTER  VIII. 

I  inclose  a  copy  of  a  Bond  which  I  request  you  immediately  to 
prosecute  in  such  way  as  will  most  speedily  produce  the  money, 
you  see  by  the  memorandum  that  the  sum  in  the  Bond  is  secured 
by  a  mortgage  of  Lands  in  Sharon.  It  is  very  interesting  to  me 
that  you  should  bring  this  Business  to  a  speedy  conclusion— pray 
do  not  fail  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  this  by  first  post— 

We  are  all  well,  are  surprised  we  have  not  heard  from  you, 
or  seen  Burr — 

We  have  lost  our  youngest  child,  our  Sally— a  beautiful  lovely 

Baby.  Your  affec- 

A.  B. 

12th  October,  1786. 


APPENDIX    0.  425 


LETTER    IX. 

From  Mrs.  Theodosia  Prevost  to  Mrs.  Sarah  Reeve.  Litchfield. 
The  writer  was  probably  engaged  to  Col.  Burr  at  the  time. 

DEAR  MADAM 

As  you  are  no  stranger  to  the  partial  friendship  your  amiable 
Brother  honors  me  with,  nor  to  my  want  of  skill  in  the  art  of 
writing,  I  will  not  apologize  for  my  present  attempt — Although  I 
can  with  propriety  accuse  him  of  a  breach  in  confidence  for  hav 
ing  exposed  the  ignorance  of  his  friend  to  a  lady  of  your  superior 
sense. 

Your  ill  health  my  Dear  Madam  has  given  me  the  utmost 
concern,  and  anxiety.  Though  I  have  not  the  nappiness  of  a 
personal  acquaintance,  As  the  sister  of  my  inestimable  friend  you 
are  justly  entitled  to  my  highest  regard  and  attention.  Give  me 
leave  to  assure  you,  I  feel  sincerely  interested  for  your  recovery — 
as  your  physician  recomends  exercise  with  change  of  air,  I  flattered 
myself  with  the  hope  of  seeing  you  with  Mr.  Keeve  at  the  Hermi 
tage,  The  Variety  may  perhaps  produce  a  happy  effect — You  will 
find  a  sympathizing  friend  who  would  feel  a  singular  pleasure  to  be 
in  the  smallest  degree  conducive  to  your  recovery — who  would  treat 
you  with  the  familiarity  of  a  sister  that  wishes  to  cultivate  your 
friendship.  Believe  me  my  Dear  Mrs.  Reeve,  your  acceptance  of 
my  wellmeant  invitation  will  be  esteemed  a  particular  favor  con- 
fered  on  Your  sincere  friend  and  very 

Humble  Servant 

THEODOSIA  PREVOST. 
HERMITAGE,  June  5th,  1770. 

My  Best  respects  wait  on  Mr.  Reeve. 

LETTER   X. 

From  Mrs.  Prevost  to  Mrs.  Reeve. 
DEAR  SALLY, 

I  have  waited  impatiently  ever  since  the  departure  of  Mr.  Reeve 
to  hear  of  your  health,  and  whether  he  suffered  no  injury  from 
the  rain — I  was  in  hopes  the  violence  of  the  storm  would  have  re 
tained  him  my  prisoner  that  day — but  he  disappointed  my  expec 
tations  even  at  the  risque  of  his  health — His  desire  to  return 
evinced  the  sacrifice  he  had  made  to  friendship  in  quitting  his 


426  APPENDIX    0. 

Sally  ;  &  redoubled  my  gratitude  to  both,  for  their  kind  at 
tention — 

Our  dear  Reeve  flattered  me  with  the  prospect  of  a  visit  from  my 
lovely  sister — The  family  employ  themselves  numbering  the  days, 
and  rejoicing  every  evening  to  be  nearer  that  wished  for  period — 
I  am  desirous  it  should  arrive  before  the  boy  returns  from  nurse — 
as  I  am  apprehensive  you  will  not  then,  have  resolution  to  quit 
home — 

My  boys  have  our  brothers  leave  to  request  from  among  his 
books,  Martins  Grammar  &  Virgil —  they  &  their  sisters  join  in 
every  assurance  of  affection  to  you  &  yours — Adieu  my  dear  Sally, 
Hvffisea  &  peace  attend  Thee — 

THEOD  PREVOST. 
SHARON,  August  3d.  — 81 

Dr.  S.  has  become  a  very  good  neighbor. 


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